translation studies: retrospective and prospective...

2008 Year I Issue 3

Translation Studies: Retrospective and Prospective Views

Proceedings of the Third Conference Translation Studies: Retrospective and

Prospective Views

(Third Volume)

October 9th –11th, 2008 “Dunărea de Jos” University, Galaţi, ROMANIA

ISSN 2065-3514

Galati University Press

2008 Year I Issue 3

Translation Studies: Retrospective and Prospective Views

Editors Elena Croitoru Floriana Popescu

“Dunărea de Jos” University, Galaţi, Romania

Guest Editors David Snelling Scuola Superiore di Lingue Moderne per Interpreti e Traduttori, University of Trieste, Italy

Francisco José Ruiz de Mendoza Ibáñez University of La Rioja, Spain

Managing Editor Daniela Şorcaru Editorial Assistant Antoanela Marta Dumitraşcu (for this issue)

Proceedings of the Third Conference Translation Studies: Retrospective and

Prospective Views (Third Volume)

October 9th –11th, 2008

“Dunărea de Jos” University, Galaţi, ROMANIA

ISSN 2065-3514

Galati University Press

2008 Year I Issue 3

This issue includes a selection of the papers presented at the International Conference

Translation Studies: Retrospective and

Prospective Views October 9th –11th, 2008 - “Dunărea de Jos” University, Galaţi,

ROMANIA

Conference Scientific Committee Federica Scarpa – Scuola Superiore di Lingue Moderne per Interpreti e Traduttori, University of Trieste, Italy Anna Giambagli - Scuola Superiore di Lingue Moderne per Interpreti e Traduttori, University of Trieste, Italy Richard R.E. Kania - Jacksonville State University, USA Mehmet Demirezen – Hacettepe University of Ankara, Turkey Marina Aroshidze – Rustaveli University of Batumi, Georgia Nicolae Ioana - ”Dunărea de Jos” University, Galaţi, Romania Elena Croitoru - ”Dunărea de Jos” University, Galaţi, Romania Michaela Praisler - ”Dunărea de Jos” University, Galaţi, Romania Angelica Vâlcu - ”Dunărea de Jos” University, Galaţi, Romania Virginia Lucatelli - ”Dunărea de Jos” University, Galaţi, Romania Anca Gâţă - ”Dunărea de Jos” University, Galaţi, Romania Doiniţa Milea - ”Dunărea de Jos” University, Galaţi, Romania

Conference Organizers

Elena Croitoru – Project Director, Director of the Research Centre “Interface research of the original and translated text. Cognitive and communicational dimensions of the message” Floriana Popescu – Director of the Dpt. of Translations of the Research Centre

Conference (Co-)Organizers

Gabriela Dima - Director of the Lexicology and Terminology Dpt. of the Research Centre Ioana Mohor-Ivan – Head of the English Dpt. Mariana Neagu – Member of the International Cognitive Linguistics Association Petru Iamandi – Translation and interpreting expert Daniela Ţuchel – Communication Coordinator Ruxanda Bontilă – Public Relations Coordinator Daniela Şorcaru – Registration Coordinator Isabela Merilă – Logistics Coordinator Antoanela Marta Dumitraşcu – Conference Programme Coordinator ISSN 2065 – 3514 © by Galati University Press Authors will be held responsible for their contributions to this volume.

Translation Studies: Retrospective and Prospective Views ISSN 2065-3514 (2008) Year I, Issue 3 Galaţi University Press

Proceedings of the 3rd Conference Translation Studies: Retrospective and Prospective Views

October 9th–11th, 2008 – “Dunărea de Jos” University, Galaţi, ROMANIA

V

Table of Contents

Table of Contents V Editors’ Note VII Foreword X

Translation Studies Carmen ANDREI Les belgicismes et leur traduction en Roumain 1

Ionela Loredana BATOG

Translating ESP Corpora 11

Ana Maria BELDIE

Stepping Up to the Next Level: Translation as a Tool of Globalization 17

Khatuna BERIDZE

Interrelation of Translation Theory and Practice with Realia as a Culturological Barrier

24

Cristina CHIFANE

Translating English and Romanian Fairy Tales 33

Ramona CIORANU

Translating for the Media 43

Elena CROITORU

Identity in Cultural Diversity Through Translation 53

Gabriela CUŞEN

Translation: A Vocabulary Learning Strategy 62

Daniel DEJICA

Information Universe and Text Perspectives in Translation: the Hol-atomistic Phase

77

Mihaela DUMITRESCU

Two “Ironic” Gestures: Translation and Literary Criticism 92

Alina GANEA, Anca GÂŢĂ

Equivalences of the Romanian Presumptive Verbal Form in French 97

Bianca-Oana HAN

Translation – Today and Tomorrow – on the Availability of a Translation 104

Petru IAMANDI

Giving a Helping Hand to the Author, or Translating the First 150 Pages of Joseph Kanon’s The Good German

110




VI

Nana KAJAIA

Peculiarities of Transmitting the Author’s Viewpoint In Translation 120

Daniela LINGURARU

The Unparalleled Adventure of One Charles Baudelaire: A Portrait of the Poet as Translator of Poe’s Fiction

125

Nadia Nicoleta MORĂRAŞU

Translating Allusive Names and Quotations from George Eliot 131

Monica NĂSTASI

The Cultural Context in Communication and Translation 139

Mariana NEAGU

“Beware of Your Luggage!” – A Glimpse at (G)localized English 147

Lidia Mihaela NECULA

Translating Cultural Brands: David Lodge, Changing Places 159

Carmen OPRIT-MAFTEI

Translating Voice in Headlines 165

Mădălina RADU

Cultural Meaning in Translating Proverbs 170

Gabriela SCRIPNIC, Anca GÂŢĂ

Equivalents of Reportative Evidentials in the French Translation of Ion Creangă’s Memories of My Boyhood

177

Daniela ŞORCARU

Contexts and Vocabulary in Translating 187

Adriana TEODORESCU

Types and Modes of Interpreting 195

Daniela ŢUCHEL

Implicatures of Translational Direct and Mixed Quotations 201

Titela VÎLCEANU

Translation Theory – The Making of the Common Grounds of Humanity / Humanities

211

George VOLCEANOV

A Critique of Leon Leviţchi’s Philological Translation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest – a Pre-requisite to a Twenty-First Century Translation

217

Abstracts i Résumés ix

Translation Studies: Retrospective and Prospective Views ISSN 2065-3514 (2008) Year I, Issues 1-2-3 Galaţi University Press



VII

Editors’ Note The summer of 2006 witnessed a new event in the calendar of international scientific events hosted by the Faculty of Letters, “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi: the international conference Translation Studies: Retrospective and Prospective Views which benefited from the contribution of 32 participants. The interest shown by the community of would-be and professional translators, master students specializing in translation and interpreting as well as teachers of the theory and practice of translation supported the conference organizing committee to continue the project. Thus, the second edition of 2007 enjoyed wider success as it brought together 67 participants. After the first two successfully-developed projects whose proceedings were published in two volumes by the CNCSIS-accredited EUROPLUS Publishing House in Galaţi, Romania, the 2008 edition followed.

The conference preserved the same specific demands: a) to provide an academic framework for productive discussion for professional and would-be translators, teachers and MA or PhD students interested in disseminating the results of their research, and b) to show how research in these fields was prepared to meet the challenges of the globalizing imperatives at the beginning of the twenty-first century, and how the local background managed to adjust to these challenges. Although the main purpose of the conference was to focus on translation studies exclusively, the organizing committee were open to suggestions and accepted other topics proposed by participants as well. This explains the flexible scientific profile creating an opportunity for younger researchers to present, describe, disseminate and, thus, submit the results of their scientific quest or exploration to other (more experienced) specialists for discussion, suggestions and (eventually) recommendations for further reading.

Since the third edition of the conference on translation studies in 2008 registered 87 participation offers, the conference proceedings publication format required some changes. The conference organizing committee decided that the participants’ contributions selected and refereed should be published in a specialist review. This review published in three issues annually, is meant to gather a number of the articles presented in the yearly




VIII

editions of this conference as well as other submitted contributions (such as short essays, book reviews, calls for books/papers, conference chronicles, announcements related to the field of translation studies). The first three issues will also publish papers not originally presented in the conference, whose authors could not participate in the event proper but had submitted their paper according to the conference calendar or while the editing work on the review was still in progress.

The publication of the first three volumes was made possible thanks to the financial support of A.N.C.Ş./N.A.S.R. (Agenţia Naţională pentru Cercetare Ştiinţifică – the National Authority for Scientific Research), subsequent to the above-mentioned project competition. The conference proceedings developed in both plenary and concurrent sessions which were so devised as to allow the participants to share their research findings in language-specific environments focusing on English culture and translation studies and Romance cultures and translation studies (French and Romanian).

The members of the scientific committee refereed the contributions; most of them were accepted for publication and they are included in three thematically-organized proceedings volumes. In addition to the paper sections, each of the issues will open with the editors’ note and a foreword assuring an easier access to the papers in the respective issue and they will end with a chapter of contribution summaries in French.

In the light of the foregoing, the first volume will consist of two paper sections, the former focusing on literary topics and the latter on foreign language teaching.

The second volume will include the contributions in the field of language and culture studies, approaching the English, French, Romanian or German cultural and linguistic environments.

The third volume will gather all of the topics discussed in the field of translation studies.

The editors and conference organizers are grateful to the scientific committee and the peer reviewers for their work and helpful suggestions which have contributed to the final form of the articles. Their special thanks go to each member of the English Department in the Faculty of Letters -“Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi for their steady support and dedication during the long hours of project designing, preparation and unfolding of the conference as well as the editing works.




IX

The editors’ cordial thanks also go to contributors who kindly answered the last minute publication requests thus authoring this new series of volumes on the current state of translation studies in Romania and abroad and to the Board of the University and of the Faculty of Letters for their support in publishing this series and in organizing the conference whose name was granted to the review.

The editors also wish to thank our colleague, dr. Gabriela Iuliana Colipcă for the efforts she took as a web master, when creating the conference web page which can be accessed for details regarding the previous editions of the conference at the address http://www.lit.ugal.ro/ConferenceTranslationStudies/home.htm

http://www/

Translation Studies: Retrospective and Prospective Views ISSN 2065 - 3514 (2008) Year I, Issue 3 Galati University Press

Editors: Elena Croitoru & Floriana Popescu Proceedings of the 3rd Conference

Translation Studies: Retrospective and Prospective Views October 9th–11th, 2008 – “Dunărea de Jos” University, Galaţi, ROMANIA

X

Foreword

The third volume of this series includes those papers considering aspects of translation studies which were advanced by the conference participants in the respective concurrent sessions. They were delivered in English or French and they have their titles in the original, but in order to ensure the English readership wider access to the papers, an outline of the topics discussed in each of the papers as well as excerpts from the abstracts accompanying the conference participation offers were selected and are available in the last part of the volume.

The complex field of translation studies allowed conference participants to manifest their various and interesting research interests, touching upon subdivisions such as: translating local vernacular, translating ESP, realia as a cultural barrier in translation, translation in the context of globalization, translating fairy tale vocabulary, translating and the media, identity and cultural diversity in translation, vocabulary learning strategies in translation, text perspectives in translation, translation and literary criticism, equivalence of verbal forms between languages, the availability of the translated text, translating various literary discourses, the importance of the cultural context in communication and translation, types and modes of interpreting, and translating proverbs.

The author’s theoretical considerations and sample analyses, as well as further references which are available with each paper, provide the readers who may show particular interest in one of the topics discussed in the present volume with enough information to satisfy their curiosity or with directions for further investigation in the respective field.

Elena CROITORU Floriana POPESCU

1

Translation Studies: Retrospective and Prospective Views ISSN 2065-3514 (2008) Year I, Issue 3

Galaţi University Press Editors: Elena Croitoru and Floriana Popescu

Proceedings of the 3rd Conference Translation Studies: Retrospective and Prospective Views THIRD VOLUME

October 9th–11th, 2008 – “Dunărea de Jos” University, Galaţi, ROMANIA pp. 1-11

Carmen ANDREI Les Belgicismes et Leur Traduction en Roumain

“Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi, ROMANIA

Prolégomènes Définies comme « particularités du parler français de Belgique, qui [les] différencie du français de France »1, les belgicismes sont répandus sur tout le territoire belge, autant en Flandre, en Wallonie, qu’en région bruxelloise2. Il y en a qui sont connus par tous les usagers [des noms communs tels que chicon, aubette, drache, nonante, etc.; des structures du genre: Tu accompagnes? pour la structure standardisée Tu viens avec ? (Vii şi tu ?), avoir facile / avoir difficile (a-i fi uşor / a-i fi greu), il y en a d’autres qui sont répandus sur une aire plus restreinte, qui sont le propre des habitants d’une région limitée, et qui présentent une fréquence plus réduite comme utilisation. L’apparition des belgicismes s’expliquent par les lois de la linguistique: toute langue varie dans le temps et dans l’espace, d’une région à l’autre. C’est ainsi que naissent également les archaïsmes et les régionalismes.

Les variations géographiques du français de Belgique s’expliquent aussi par l’influence des éléments de substrat. Il s’agit plus précisément des dialectes wallon, picard, champenois, lorrain, en Wallonie, respectivement des dialectes flamands en Flandre et dans la région bruxelloise. Notre article ne s’occupe pas des belgicismes phonétiques (ainsi classifiée en fonction de l’accent, de l’intonation et de la prononciation), puisqu’ils ont fait l’objet des études ponctuelles de grande envergure qui s’accordent toutes à les considérés comme des défauts3. Notons en passant que, en ce qui concerne la prononciation, le français de Belgique est plus conservateur que le français de France parce qu’il garde la distinction entre brun et brin, entre é et è situés en position finale, malgré les risques que cet aspect court et répercute sur la syntaxe (comme l’effacement de la différence entre le futur, le conditionnel)4.

2

Les belgicismes sont présents dans l’argot scolaire en général, dans l’argot estudiantin en particulier, dans les textes administratifs officiels, dans le vocabulaire technique des métiers. Les belgicismes qui appariassent dans l’appellation des spécialités culinaires font, eux aussi, l’objet des travaux bien documentés. Ceux qui désignent des boissons et des plats de terroir sont les plus savoureux. En fait, tous les pays connaissent ce phénomène de création lexicale concernant les plats spécifiques et les appellations que l’on leur a attribués.

En fonction de la fréquence et du statut socioculturel des usagers, les spécialistes font la différence entre les belgicismes de bon aloi (distingués, élégants) et les belgicismes de mauvais aloi (vulgaires), autrement dit, il y a des belgicismes de bonne ou de mauvaise qualité5.

Nous remarquons à juste titre que la majorité des dictionnaires de belgicismes que nous citons à la fin de notre article n’indiquent pas le niveau et le registre de langue. Nous trouvons la mention populaire seulement pour les faits linguistiques qui touchent à la syntaxe. Petit glossaire de belgicismes

L’inventaire qui suit se veut un ABC des belgicismes présents surtout dans l’argot estudiantin et ailleurs. Les exemples offerts introduisent les termes dans les contextes les plus courants. Leur traduction en roumain se fait dans le but d’une meilleure compréhension du phénomène et d’une plus facile appropriation des termes en question. Pour les termes qui présentent des particularités, nous mettons entre crochets la prononciation phonétique.

ABIYE [abi:j] = vite (repede) Fais ton devoir, abiye ! = Fă-ţi temele, repede ! ACHETER (à Bruxelles) = avoir un bébé (a avea un copil) Ils ne gagnent pas assez, disent-ils ; pour eux, pas question d’acheter maintenant.= Nu câştigă destui bani, spun ei; pentru ei nici nu se pune problema să aibă acum un copil. ADIRE = se laisser convaincre, séduire (en Wallonie) (a se lăsa convins, sedus)

Il s’est laissé adire et il a accepté le marché. = S-a lăsat convins şi a acceptat târgul.

A-FOND = dans l’argot estudiantin et, généralement, dans la langue de la jeunesse, action de faire cul sec en buvant, spécialement un verre de bière (acţiunea de a bea paharul până la fund, mai ales un pahar de bere)

Tu dois faire un à-fond, dépêche-toi! = Trebuie să-ţi bei paharul până la fund, hai, grăbeşte-te!

AGAYON [agajõ] = truc, machin, « bazar » (chestie, lucruri, dezordine, bazar)

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Range tes agayons! = Fă-ţi curat la lucruri! AINSI = enceinte (însărcinată), à Bruxelles (fonctionne comme adjectif épithète); dans le même contexte peuvent apparaître d’autres expressions courantes telles que attendre famille, être en position et économiser = être enceinte (a fi însărcinată); dans le Brabant wallon on emploie l’euphémisme embarrassée = stânjenită;

Je n’avais pas remarqué qu’elle était ainsi = Nici n-am observat că este însărcinată.

AMIGO = prison de police, cachot de la police communale (închisoare, arest al poliţiei), de l’esp. amigo. Il a passé la nuit à l’amigo = Şi-a petrecut noaptea în arestul poliţiei. APOTHICAIRE = un drôle d’individu, un original (individ ciudat, original) Ça ne m’étonne pas de sa part, c’est un drôle d’apothicaire = Asta nu mă miră din partea lui, e un ciudat. AMITIEUX = affectueux, caressant, tendre, aimant (afectuos, tandru, iubitor) C’est un enfant très amitieux = E un copil tare tandru. ASTRAPADE = différend, querelle (dispută, ceartă), synonyme de brette ; accident de santé (accident de sănătate) J’ai eu une astrapade avec mon voisin = M-am certat cu vecinul meu.

Depuis son astrapade, il n’est plus le même = De când a avut accidentul, nu mai este acelaşi.

AMUSETTE = se dit d’un jeune homme qui n’est pas trop sérieux, qui est frivole, léger (se spune despre un tânăr care nu este prea serios, e frivol, uşuratic)

Je le connais, lui, c’est une amusette = Îl ştiu eu bine, e cam uşuratic. AUBETTE6 = kiosque à journaux (chioşc de ziare sau adăpost amenajat pentru public în staţiile de transport în comun)

L’aubette de la gare est toujours fermée le dimanche = Chioşcul de ziare din gară e mereu închis duminica.

AUDITOIRE = salle de cours, de conférence (sală de curs, de conferinţă) ; en français standard, ce mot a le sens « d’assemblée de personnes qui écoutent un conférencier, un artiste » Dans quel auditoire as-tu cours ce matin? = În ce sală ai curs dimineaţă? BAC = une sorte de récipient, de bote, très usité en Belgique; bac à cendres, bac à charbon;

bac à schnick = cabaret bruyant de bas étage, endroit mal fréquenté parfois (cabaret zgomotos aflat în subsol, uneori loc rău famat)

BAES [ba:s], fém. BAESINE = patron de café, homme robuste (patron de cafenea, bărbat solid); dans l’argot estudiantin c’est le logeur (proprietarul unei locuinţe de închiriat)

Le baes s’est fâché parce que l’on a fait trop de bruit en rentrant dimanche = Proprietarul s-a supărat că duminică am făcut prea mare gălăgie când ne-am întors acasă.

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BALANCE = dans l’argot estudiantin, note non satisfaisante, mais qui, à elle seule, n’entraîne pas l’ajournement (notă proastă care nu înseamnă neapărat restanţă la examen) J’ai une balance en chimie = Am luat o notă proastă la chimie. BALIGANDER = vagabonder (a hoinări, a vagabonda) Où as-tu encore été baligander? = Pe unde ai tot hoinărit? BARBOTER = gronder, réprimander, voire bavarder (a certa, a sporovăi); Elle a barboté sa fille pour rien = Şi-a certat fiica degeaba. BARRETTE, dans l’expression faire barrette = sécher les cours (a chiuli de la şcoală) BAVETTE = bavard, e (vorbăreţ, flecar), employé surtout au féminin

Quelle bavette, cette femme! = Ce gură mare are femeia asta! Ce mult mai vorbeşte femeia asta!

BÉBELLLES = jouet (jucărie), dans l’expression faire bébelles = soigner prticulièrement la tenue vestimentaire d’une petite fille (a dichisi excesiv vestimentaţia unei fetiţe) BABELUTE7 = sorte de bonbon pareil au caramel, originaire de Furnes (varietate de bomboană asemănătoare unei caramele) BELLE-BELLE (fréquent à Charleroi), dans l’expression faire belle-belle = être

hypocritement aimable (a fi amabil cu ipocrizie) Il fait belle-belle avec ses parents, on sait bien pourquoi = Se face că-i

drăguţ cu părinţii lui, ştim noi prea bine de ce. BEURRE, dans les expressions :

battre le beurre = patauger dans le domaine de l’esprit (a şovăi, a nimeri pe lângă subiect) être dans le beurre / avoir le cul dans le beurre = être dans l’aisance (a

trăi bine, în îndestulare); Il est tombé dans l’assiette au beurre = A făcut o partidă bună, s-a însurat „bine”. BIBICHE = bébête, mièvre, gnagnagn (miorlăită, mieroasă, searbădă, delicată);

Cette femme est un peu bibiche = E o miorlăită. BIBITIF, -VE, dans l’argot estudiantin une réunion bibitive = o petrecere unde se bea mult BISSER (y compris les noms bisseur, bisseuse) = redoubler une classe dans l’enseignement secondaire et universitaire catholique (a rămâne repetent) ; il y a aussi TRISSER = a repeta un an sau un curs pentru a treia oară

Il a bissé sa première année = A repetat anul întâi. BITU = ivre (beat); Le bitu magnifique = culegere de cântece studenţeşti Il était tellement bitu qu’il ne pouvait marcher droit = Era atât de beat că nu putea să mai meargă drept. BLEU = follement amoureux (îndrăgostit nebuneşte, lulea)

Sa cousine, il en est bleu = E îndrăgostit lulea de verişoara lui.

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BLOQUE (à l’Université libre de Bruxelles) = préparation aux examens ou temps de cette préparation (pregătirea examenelor sau perioada de pregătire a examenelor)

bloquer = a studia, a toci; bloqueur, bloqueuse = student (ă) care reputaţia de tocilar BOBONNE = grand-mère (bunică, mamaie) BOURGMESTRE = équivalent du maire, le premier magistrat de la commune (termen echivalent pentru un primar, primul magistrat al comunei ca unitate administrativă)

Le Bourgmestre de Furnes est un roman célèbre écris par Georges Simenon. BROSSER (brosseur) = étudiant qui a l’habitude de sécher les cours (a chiuli, student chiulangiu), l’antonyme de bloqueur BUSE = échec à un examen („boabă”, eşec la un examen) ; buser = a pica la un examen; un des synonymes de buse est cale Il a ramassé une buse = A picat la examen. Son prof l’a busé = Profesorul l-a picat la examen. CANDI = candidature, premier grande universitaire (primul grad universitar; candidatura însumează primii doi ani de studenţie) CANNIBALE = toast au steak tartare, à la viande crue (steak cu carne crudă) CANULE = individu nul, incapable (nulitate, „gunoi”)

Cet étudiant est une vraie canule = Studentul acesta nu e în stare de nimic, e nul, e zero barat. CHAT D’APRES LA SAINT-JEAN = chaton qui pousse mal, né fin juin d’une mère déjà épuisée après deux maternités depuis février, par extinction, enfant malingre, né des parents âgés (pisoi plăpând, prin extensie, copil pricăjit, bolnăvicios, născut din părinţi în vârstă) CHICON8 = endive, pousse blanche de la chicorée de Bruxelles (andivă, mlădiţă de cicoare) CHIQUE = chewing gum (gumă de mestecat) ; dans les expressions

ça ne vaut pas une chique = nu face nici cât o ceapă degerată ; avoir sa chique = être ivre (a fi beat)

CHOCOLAT, dans l’expression être chocolat bleu pâle = être roulé (a fi / a se lăsa fraierit) CINEMA (utilisé fréquemment à Bruxelles), dans l’expression

MONTRER SON CINEMA = a-şi arăta părţile sexuale, a face exhibiţionism CLASSIQUES (nom fém. au pl.) = études de philologie classique (studii de filologie clasică) CLOPE = peur, trac, frousse (frică, trac, târşă) Il avait la clope avant l’examen = Îi era târşă înainte de examen.

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COKOTER = partager un kot (a împărţi aceeaşi cameră, acelaşi apartament într-un cămin studenţesc sau în chirie) ; à partir de ce verbe, il y a les dérivés : cokoteur, cokoteuse, parfois cokotier, cokotière ; on les retrouve également dans les variantes koter, koteur, koteuse COPION = document préparé pour la fraude (fiţuică, copiuţă, prin extensie orice document pregătit pentru fraudă la un examen) ; dans l’argot scolaire français antisèche COU, dans l’expression avoir un gros cou = a fi foarte pretenţios CRAC DEDANS ! [kRakdədã] = locution interjective pour menacer quelqu’un d’une punition, à l’école, comme à l’armée, par la police (locuţiune interjecţională prin care se ameninţă cineva cu pedeapsa, se foloseşte de către poliţie la şcoală, în armată, etc.) Ton devoir pour demain, sinon, crac dedans! = Fă-ţi temele pentru mâine, dacă nu ai să vezi tu! CRU9 (adj.) = froid et humide relatif au temps (frig şi umed) Il fait cru ce matin = E frig şi e umezeală în această dimineaţă. DÉJEUNER = petit déjeuner en France (micul dejun în Franţa) DELIBERER = dans l’enseignement, à propos d’un étudiant (a da o notă unui student)

Les mémoires n’ont pas encore été délibérés = Încă nu s-au afişat notele la lucrările de licenţă.

DEMI-DOUX = personne un peu simple d’esprit (persoană cam prostuţă) DIKKE NEK [dikənεk] = vantard, vaniteux, synonyme de cou (lăudăros, vanitos, preţenţios) DINER = repas de midi (masa de prânz), le déjeuner en France DIS = dans l’argot estudiantin, variante de distinction (distincţie, premiu)

Il a reçu une grande dis = A fost premiat. DJOK [dзоk]= dans l’argot de la jeunesse, les lieux d’aisance (locuri de distracţie) DOUF = lourd et étouffant à propos du temps (vreme înnourată cu atmosferă sufocantă),

synonyme de fade et de stof DRACHE = pluie dure, forte averse (ploaie măruntă, aversă puternică);

dracher = pleuvoir à verse (a ploua cu găleata) En Belgique, le 21 juillet, tout le monde craint la drache nationale.= În Belgia, toţi se tem să nu plouă pe 21 iulie, când e sărbătoarea naţională.

ECHEVIN = membre du conseil communal (consilier comunal) EMERITAT = état du professeur ou du magistrat émérite (pensionare);

professeur émérite = professeur de certaines universités qui a acquis le droit à la retraite (profesor universitar care a ajuns la vârsta pensionării sau care se află la pensie)

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EXEMPLATIF = donné à titre d’exemple, mais non en tant que modèle (de exemplu, dar nu şi ca model);

un cas exemplatif = o exemplificare EXTRAORDINAIRE, dans les syntagmes comme professeur extraordinaire = professeur d’université dont la tâche principale se situe ailleurs; à Bruxelles, c’est le professeur qui attend sa promotion à l’ordinariat (profesorul universitar care este titular într-o altă instituţie decât în cea la care se face referirea ; la Bruxelles, este profesorul care aşteaptă promovarea de la gradul de ordinariat, statutul de profesor ordinar fiind cel mai înalt în ierarhia profesorilor universitari) FARDE10 = chemise, dossier (mapă, dosar) FARO = bere specifică regiunii Bruxelles FILET AMERICAIN = steak tartare (carne tocată crudă pregătită cu mirodenii) FLAT = studio, petit appartement (mic apartament) FOURCHE11 = creux, trou, temps libre dans son horaire entre deux périodes de cours (timp liber, pauză în orar, între două cursuri, «gaură»)

J’ai ce matin une fourche de deux heures = Am o pauză de două ore în această dimineaţă. FRITURE = rulotă unde se vând cartofi prăjiţi (frites); spre deosebire de franceză standard unde prin friture se desemnează acţiunea de a prăji un aliment GALANT (în Valonia, la pl.) = pânză de păianjen în interiorul unei case GOSETTE = colţunaş umplut cu fructe (mere, caise) sau cu marmeladă de fructe GOUTTE (în Valonia) = un păhărel de rachiu de ienupăr

J’ai acheté une bouteille de goutte = Am cumpărat o sticlă cu rachiu de ienupăr. GUEZE12 = bere specifică regiunii Bruxelles GUINDAILLE (subst. fem.) = chef studenţesc, de obicei cu băutură, uneori cu sensul de festin, petrecere zgomotoasă, cu râsete şi cântece. La Universitatea Catolică din Louvain, text satiric care se recită la un chef. HALF EN HALF [halvənalf] = băutură asortată de tip coktail, făcută din două jumătăţi de alcool, de exemplu din vin alb şi şampanie. HANTER = a avea o legătură sentimentală cu cineva Elle hante le fils du patron = Are o relaţie amoroasă cu fiul patronului. HUMANITÉS (subst. fem., pl.) = studii secundare cu sau fără limba latină sau greacă

Elle a fait ses humanités modernes. = A terminat un liceu cu profil limbi moderne. KERMESSE = sărbătoare a patronului spiritual sau religios al unei localităţi sau al unui cartier KRIEK = varietate de bere slab alcoolizată obţinută prin adaosul de cireşe

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LAMBIC = bere specifică regiunii Bruxelles MANNEKE [manəkə] = băiat, puşti (nuanţă afectivă), unul dintre cele mai atractive obiective turistice din Bruxelles este Mannenkenpiss. MAQUÉE13 = specialitate de brânză proaspătă MASTOQUE = masiv, solid, dar şi scrântit la cap, dus cu pluta MÉMOIRE (subst. fem.) = text de învăţat pe de rost, de memorat

J’ai une mémoire pour demain = Am de învăţat un text pentru mâine. MINERVAL = dreptul de a se înscrie într-o instituţie de învăţământ MIJOLER = a flirta, a agăţa ( mai ales în argoul studenţesc) MOFLASSE = scofâlcit, excesiv de moale; se poate spune şi despre o persoană; MOFLER = a pica un student la examen; mofleur = profesor care are reputaţia că pică studenţii la examene

Le professeur l’a moflé = Profesorul l-a picat la examen. NEZ, în expresia faire de son nez = a se da mare NONANTE14 = 90; derivat în nonantaine = vreo 90 PAIN FRANÇAIS = baghetă franţuzească, pâine PARTIM = în limbajul academic este antonimul lui interim, un post / o normă didactică parţială, incompletă PATCHE [patſ] = persoană în vârstă, bătrân (ă), babă sau moş ; la Bruxelles mey = babă şi pey = moş (fam. şi pop.) PÉPETTE = bani, mălai, dar şi dos, fund. Scriitorul belgian André Baillon a publicat romanul Zonzon Pépette, titlu inspirat pentru a rezuma viaţa unei prostituate care se oferă pe bani. PÉTER (în argoul şcolar şi universitar) = a pica; de aici şi péteur = profesor care pică uşor studenţii şi petture = eşec la examen PISTOLET15 = chiflă, pâine mică şi rotundă, sinonimul lui miche PLIC-PLOC = ici şi acolo, din când în când Il tombe plic-ploc une goutte = Mai picură din când în când. RASTREINS ! = imperativ folosit ca interjecţie pentru a atenţiona pe cineva că exagerează, se întrece cu gluma RECTA (adv., folosit frecvent în Valonia) = imediat RÉPÉTANT (folosit la Universitatea din Liège) = repetent REVENANT = frumos ; avoir un visage revenant = a avea un chip frumos, atrăgător ROMANES (subst. fem., pl) = studii de filologie romană; un romaniste = un student licenţiat în- sau un profesor de filologie romană al unei facultăţi de filosofie şi litere dintr-o universitate belgiană

Mon fils a fait la romane / les romanes / ses romanes = Fiul meu a făcut studii de filologie romană.

ROTEUR = persoană care bombăne, protestează, supărăcioasă Il n’y a pas plus roteur que lui = nu-i pe lume mai supărăcios ca el.

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ROULADE şi ROULER = a face turul cârciumilor, tuturor barurilor SAMEDI, în expresia faire son samedi = a-şi face în casă curăţenia săptămânală SATIS (de la satisfaction) = satisfăcător ca menţiune minimă pentru un examen, notă minimă de trecere, mai ales la universitate SEPTANTE16 = 70 SOUPER = a lua masă de seară, cina SPOUM (adj., la Bruxelles) = foarte bun, excelent STOEMELINGS [stuməlinks], frecvent la Bruxelles, în expresia en stœmelings = pe ascuns SYLLABUS (subst. masc., syllabi la pl.) = note de curs, sinteze destinate studenţilor Le professuer a donné son syllabus dès le premier cours = Profesorul le-a dat studenţilor cursul tipărit încă de la prima întâlnire. TAISEUX17 = despre o persoană care vorbeşte puţin, tăcut, taciturn; în Legenda lui Ulenspeigel de Charles De Coster este porecla lui Guillaume d’Orange. TCHIC = tura-vura, et patati et patata în franceza standard TRAPPISTE = varietate de bere tare, puternic alcoolizată; la Trappe = mănăstire de călugări VACANTURE = post vacant VITOLET = chiftele din carne tocată, prăjite şi bine condimentate WASSERETTE = spălătorie automată de rufe WATERZOOI [watεrzo:i]18 = supă consistentă / rasol de pui, uneori de peşte cu legume (în Flandra, în bucătăria gantoază); carnea şi legumele se servesc împreună cu zeama în care au fiert. ZWANZE [zwã: s] = tip de umor specific Bruxelles-ului; de aici a derivat verbul zwanzer = a glumi şi zwanzeur = glumeţ.

En guise de conclusions Notre travail a eu le but modeste de dresser un ABC des belgicismes sans avoir la prétention d’en offrir une liste exhaustive. Les chercheurs qui y seraient intéressés pourraient entamer une recherche plus poussée et ponctuelle, et partir, par exemple, d’un ABC des belgicismes dans l’argot estudiantin et ailleurs. Bibliographie sélective: Lebouc, G. (1998). Le belge dans tous ses états. Dictionnaire de belgicismes, grammaire et

prononciation, Paris: Ed. Bonneton. Hanse, J. et al. (1994).Belgicismes. Inventaire des particularités du français de Belgique,

Bruxelles: Duculot.

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Bal, W., Doppagne, A., Goosse, A., Hanse, J., Lenoble-Pinson, M., Pohl, J., Warant, L. (1971). Chasse aux belgicismes, Bruxelles: Fondation Charles Plisnier, bureau „Office du bon langage”.

Hanse, J. et al. (1974). Nouvelle chasse aux belgicismes, Bruxelles: Fondation Charles Plisnier, bureau „Office du bon langage”.

Doppagne, A. (1979). Belgicismes de bon aloi, Bruxelles: Fondation Charles Plisnier, bureau „Office du bon langage”.

Notes: 1Willy Bal şi col. (1971). Chasse aux belgicismes, Bruxelles: Fondation Charles Plisnier, bureau „Office du bon langage”, p. 31. 2 Dans la chanson « Bruxelles », Jacques Brel célèbre le Bruxelles de jadis qui bruxellait, verbe créé justement pour désigner la façon particulière de parler belge. 3 Parmi les particularités phonétiques des belgicismes, nous rappelons : le relâchement de l’articulation des consonnes finales quand il s’agit de sonores, cf. Chasse aux belgicismes, pp. 41-48. Parmi les « défauts » de prononciation des sons, nous rappelons : l’articulation explosive des groupes ti, di, ni suivis de voyelles (moitié est prononcé moitché). La nasalisation, des ouvertures « coupables », des finales trop appuyées, la confusion entre semi-voyelles et semi-consonnes (u /w) sont des phénomènes phonétiques qui donnent la spécificité des belgicismes. Ils sont inventoriés et richement exemplifiés par les phonéticiens dans des études poussées. 4 Vezi G. Lebouc (1998). Le belge dans tous ses états. Dictionnaire de belgicismes, grammaire et prononciation, Paris: Ed. Bonneton, p. 10. 5 Acesta este titlul a două lucrări de specialitate bine documentate, Belgicismes de bon aloi şi Belgicismes de mauvais aloi, belgicisme de bună calitate şi belgicisme de proastă calitate. Scopul studiilor de acest gen este să avertizeze asupra a ceea ce se spune în Belgia şi ceea ce nu se spune dincolo de frontierele belgiene pentru ca vorbitorii să-şi poată corecta „defectele” şi „lenea” în articularea anumitor sunete, vezi Joseph Hanse şi col. (1974). Nouvelle chasse aux belgicismes, Bruxelles: Fondation Charles Plisnier, bureau „Office du bon langage”, p. 45. 6 Vezi A. Dopagne, Belgicismes de bon aloi, ed. cit., pp. 34-41. 7 Ibidem, p. 167. 8 Ibidem, p. 168. 9 Ibidem, pp. 58-69. 10 Ibidem, pp. 88-95. 11 Ibidem, pp. 97-99. 12 Ibidem, p. 173. 13 Ibidem, p. 174. 14 Ibidem, pp. 113-154. 15 Ibidem, pp. 107-1112. 16 Ibidem, pp. 113-154. 17 Ibidem, pp. 159-160. 18 Ibidem, p. 180.

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Galaţi University Press Editors: Elena Croitoru & Floriana Popescu



Ionela-Loredana BATOG Translating ESP Corpora

“Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi, ROMANIA The increasing demand for English to suit particular needs and interests has brought about the growth of ESP. This had an important influence on the learners’ motivation as well as on the effectiveness of their learning. Consequently, the courses were designed on the basis of ‘relevance’ to the learners’ needs and interests. That is to say, the English needed by a particular group of learners could be identified by analyzing the linguistic characteristics of their specialized area of work or study. Thus texts were chosen from the learners’ particular domain. All this led to a guiding principle of English for Specific Purposes (ESP): “Tell me what you need English for and I will tell you the English that you need.” ( Croitoru 1996:62)

This is proven by the fact that English is frequently used in official documents of many international organizations, treaties, contracts, negotiations and summits. In its role as a global language, English has become one of the most important academic and professional tools. The English language is recognized as undoubtedly the most important language for the increasingly mobile international community to learn. This is a fact that seems to be irreversible. English has become the official language of both business and scientific worlds.

As David Crystal adds: “As English becomes the chief means of communication between nations, it is crucial to ensure that it is taught accurately and efficiently, (3).”

English has become the main language used in technical documentation throughout the world, but it can be difficult to understand due to its many forms and complexity: complex sentence structures, multiple meanings and synonyms easily result in confusion. In addition, many readers’ command of English can fall below the level of those who created the documentation (technical writers and engineers), which especially applies to non-native English speakers.

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Although many linguists fight this phenomenon, Anglicisation is a linguistic process that results from the tendency of internationalisation of the English language. Linguistic globalisation is seen as a consequence of modern economic worldwide interdependency.

There is a strong demand of specialised text in the field of Electrical Engineering. The rapid evolution and the renewal of the National Energetic System towards alternative sources of energy impose the need of new research in the field. The scientists working in the field are confronted with a shortage of TT translated scientific text and with the difficulty of transmitting studies abroad, due to linguistic discordances. The innovation of control structures from the National Energetic System is based on parallels with other advanced energetic systems. Therefore, a lexical inventory of specific terms would be appropriate.

Nowadays, industries are subject to the highest levels of quality and safety and involve technology from all industries. Therefore, for a better rendering of the message, ESP translation needs to obey certain basic characteristics:

A limited number of words, for the accuracy of the message A limited number of clearly defined meanings for each word

in order to avoid ambiguity A set of rules for writing texts.

In everyday English, different words may have a similar meaning. For example, consider the sentence Locate the pin in the aperture. Some synonyms for the verb locate are fit, mount, position, put, place, set, situate. Which one should the translator use? Well, it is advisable to use the word put when referring to the meaning “to cause something to move or to be in a position”.

Another characteristic of technical and scientific texts is the fact that the information is presented in a logical order and meaning is built up step by step: “Today most engineering work involves the use of computers and it is commonplace to use computer-aided design programs when designing electrical systems.”( www.wikipedia.org)

Connectives link ideas so that claims about knowledge can be formed and justified. The place of connectives within a sentence varies:

“Power engineers may work on the design and maintenance of the power grid as well as the power systems that connect to it. Such systems are called on-grid power systems and may supply the grid with additional power, draw power from the grid or do both.Power engineers may also work on systems that do not connect to the grid, called off-grid power systems, which in some cases are preferable to on-grid systems.”(Main article: Power engineering: http://pepei.pennnet.com/articles/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineering

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-aided_design

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_engineering

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Other connectives include those used to clarify, sequence ideas, and present a condition or concession:

“Power plants have for many years used deionised water as makeup to high-pressure boilers and for producing steam to drive turbines and generate electricity. Although this technology has been popular for half a century, it requires the use of hazardous chemicals to regenerate the ion exchange deionizers. Additionally, ion exchange produces chemical wastes that require neutralization before being discharged.”(Wood, Continuous Electrode ionization for Water Treatment at Power Plants) Academic words are common to a various range of academic

disciplines, being included in ESP texts: affect, analyse, assess, concept, conclude, consequent, define, design, estimate, formula, identify, indicate, interpret, major, method, process, resource, relevant, select, similar, specific, theory, transfer, vary.

Nominalisation condenses information by removing the person and sometimes other details such as time. It is a process by which verbs, and sometimes adjectives, become nouns: "…water to rise up high and spill over the banks" is written using mainly verb phrases – "to rise up high" and "spill over"; "flooding" is written as a noun. In this example, a lengthy explanation is turned into a single noun – "flooding".

ESP words are specific to a particular topic, field, or academic discipline. These words, i.e., their scientific meanings, are usually uncommon elsewhere: indigenous, ,power plant, renewal, reliability, regeneration; endangered, database, DNA samples, dorsal fin, habitats, Hector's dolphin, species, run-off pollution; Co2; solution, periodic table.

Another characteristic of ESP texts is the fact that the focus is on things and processes. People's thoughts, feelings and opinions are not usually of interest. Personal pronouns such as "it" and "they" are reasonably common, especially in scientific reports, but "she", "he", "we", "I", and "you", are not.

“Faced with an increasingly competitive power supply market and stricter environmental targets, optimising the performance of its power plants has become a major challenge for PowerGen, a global generator, distributor and supplier of electricity.”( http://www.nag.co.uk PowerGen optimises power plant performance using NAG's Algorithms) The passive voice focuses attention on the action, not on who did it.”

The unit of frequency is named the Hertz and it is equal to one cycle per second. This unit is named after the German scientist who discovered radio waves.” (Electromagnetic waves and antenna basics)

http://arb.nzcer.org.nz/thinking-about-how-language-works.php#connectives

http://arb.nzcer.org.nz/supportmaterials/english/thinking-about-how-language-works.php#nominalisation

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The subject of a clause receives the action (or state) of the verb, i.e., the subject is the target of the action:” Today, PowerGen has developed boiler modeling software, incorporating NAG algorithms, that enables them to optimise the performance of their power plants based on specific criteria.”

"Doing" verbs express the action and happenings in a text.(implementing. analysing, operating ,formulating etc) "Linking" verbs link pieces of information. These types of verbs are common in science texts. The verbs of inner consciousness such as feeling, thinking, believing, and seeing, are not.

In everyday English, a single word can have many different meanings. Usually, we can understand the meaning from the context. However, a single word might have different interpretations. For example the sentence Replace the filter could mean either of the following: put back the filter that you took out or install a new filter. For product specific terms, such as the name of a part, it is advisable for the translator to build a glossary of terms that should be useful when translating ESP texts.

How to improve the translation of ESP texts? If there were a compete recipe, the translator’s task would be much easier. However, there are certain rules that can help us to improve the quality of our ESP translation:

Use short sentences. The recommended length is 20 words in a procedural sentence and 28 words in a descriptive sentence

Be as specific as possible When translating in English, use the conjunction THAT after

subordinate clauses that use verbs such as make sure and show Do not use clusters of more than three nouns. For example,

instead of Runaway light connection calibration it is better to write Calibration of the resistance on a runway light connection.

The English language can certainly be ambiguous. A sentence may follow all the rules of grammar and still be ambiguous. For instance, let’s take the next two sentences: We have received reports that the engines are defective and We received reports that the engines are defective. Well, both sentences transmit that “both engines are defective”. However, there is a slight difference in meaning between the present perfect version and the past simple version of the sentences (the news is recent or old).

No claim has here been made for the importance of English on the grounds of its quality as a language (the size of its vocabulary, its relative lack of inflections, the alleged flexibility of its syntax). (Quirk 1997:3) The choice of an international language, or lingua franca, is never based on linguistic or aesthetic criteria but always on political, economic, and demographic ones.

During the last few decades English has come closest to being the single international language, having achieved a greater world spread than

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any other language in recorded history. Yet, in recent years, doubts have arisen it will ever reach the ideal of the single international language or, indeed, whether its use as an international language will continue at the present level.

A single international language has long been thought to be the ideal for international communication. Artificially-constructed languages have never acquired sufficiently large numbers of adherents, although, in principle, such languages have the obvious advantage that they put all learners on the same footing (all are non-native speakers), thereby not giving an advantage to speakers of any particular language.

Translation difficulties involve the difficulties of learning to use a language both receptively and productively, which is rooted, in the distinction between productive (encoding) and receptive (decoding) linguistic performance and competence.

Any stretch of language may offer one type of difficulty or another, if not more. It is almost impossible to work out hard and fast rules for translation covering all subtleties and difficulties, but an evaluation can be made, as A. Bantas puts it, from a “conscious, global thoroughgoing contextual analysis to a realistic translation”. (Bantas 1994:84)

As future prospects in translating ESP, computational linguistics turns into a process that is more than a useful tool of analysing language. It offers the translator the possibility of collecting texts for including them in the corpus, encoding them in electronic format and annotating it afterwards according to translator’s needs.

For a better identification of the boundaries of overlapping speech segments, structural mark-up provides descriptive information about the corpus. Tagging certain parts of speech in the corpus can be done by using specific software that automatically assigns each word in the corpus a part of speech designation (proper noun, modal verb, preposition etc.). Prepositional phrases or subordinate clauses can be identified in a corpus by using software that actually parses a corpus identifying structures larger than the word.

Leech (1998:vii) considers that creating a corpus always takes much time and effort and it can soon become out of date. The process of analysing a corpus is again considered difficult due to the fact that the analysis is done manually. Actually, the efficiency of the process of analysing the corpus would increase if descriptive linguists and computational linguists would work together to create corpora. The British National Corpus is the proof that this kind of team work is more than successful.

Since Chomskyan revolution in 1950, corpus linguistics has been one of the most exciting developments in linguistics as Meyer (2004:158) states.

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Doing a proper corpus analysis will help us advance in the study of human language, an area where a lot of research is still necessary.

Due to the accessibility of electronic texts on the Internet, collecting and computerised texts has become much easier. There is a strong need for linguists’ deeper involvement into the research and development of corpora as future prospects of the modern linguistics and translation studies. The present study intends to develop and analyse a corpora of electrical engineering texts together with a driven investigation of the language used in electrical engineering and informatics and an analysis of the morphological and semantic characteristics of the corpora translated.

References: Baker, P., Hardie, A., McEnery, A., Xiao, R., Bontcheva, K., Cunningham, H.,

Gaizauskas, R., Hamza, O., Maynard, D., Tablan, V., Ursu, C., Jayaram, B., and Leisher, M. (2004). Corpus linguistics and South Asian languages: Corpus creation and tool development. Literary and Linguistic Computing 19:509-524

Bantas, A, Croitoru E. (1999). Didactica Traducerii, Bucuresti: Editura Teora Burnard, L. (1995). Users' reference guide to the British National Corpus. Oxford:

Oxford University Computing Services Croitoru, E. (1996). Interpretation and Translation, Galati: Editura Porto-Franco Crystal, D. (2000). Language Death, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Crystal, D. (2003). English As a Global Language, Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press Halliday, M.A.K., & Martin, J.R. (1993). Writing science: Literacy and discursive

power. London/Washington D.C.: Falmer Quirk R., Greenbaum S., Leech G., Svartivik, J. (1997). A Comprehensive Grammar

of the English Language, London: Longman Publishing House McArthur, T. (ed.) (1992). The Oxford Companion to the English Language, New

York: Oxford UP Meyer, C. (2004). English Corpus Linguistics, Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press Sinclair, J. (1991). Corpus, concordance, collocation: Describing English language.

Oxford: Oxford University Press ***http://www.nag.co.uk ***www.wikipedia.org ***www.google.com ***Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. (2000). Edinburgh Gate, England:

Longman Group Ltd ***Dictionary of Electronics. (2002). McGraw&Hill

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October 9th–11th, 2008 – “Dunărea de Jos” University, Galaţi, ROMANIA pp. 17-23 Ana-Maria BELDIE Stepping Up to the Next Level: Translation as a Tool of Globalization


“The world is shrinking and it’s got nothing to do with global warming” says Timothy Sexton in an article published in 2006. It has all to do with globalization and the current tendency towards “internationalization”.

The reasons for which globalization and translation can be connected are the following:

• Globalization has had an important impact not only on people’s lives and cultures, but also on translators’ work

• Translation is becoming an important tool to increase understanding between cultures

• Cultures that readers are traditionally not familiar with have become accessible as a result of globalization.

The term “globalization” has many definitions depending on the particular framework from which it is observed: commercial, political, social or technical.

Hatim and Munday define globalization as a “multi-level term that is used to refer to the global nature of the world economy with the all-pervasive spread of multinationals. In commercial translation, it is often used in the sense of the creation of local versions of websites for international important companies or the translation of the product and marketing material for the global market.”(2004: 112).

Although globalization is generally defined in relation to international commerce, its impact on the field of translation became obvious when the cross-border business negotiations and the Internet revealed the extent to which languages and cultures are a barrier to communication. Consequently, in order to overcome these linguistic and

cultural boundaries, globalization had to impose a new set of requirements for translation and use a specific tool - localization.

As part of the process of globalization, localization applies to both the content and package of products and services which must render the message under an appropriate form in the cultural context of the receiver. O’Hagan and Ashword (2002: 66) call this process the “culturalization of the message”. In other words, localization means “adding to a text features that will mark it as being for a particular local readership, and subtracting features that would mark it as being for some other local readership.” (Mossop, 2001: 167) These modifications are in keeping with a process of adapting the message to the receiver environment, re-creating it in order to make it look and sound like an equivalent local product.

While globalization is seen as “a process to enable the message to be adaptable to the conditions that may be imposed by receivers who do not share the same linguistic and cultural background as the sender”, localization is perceived as a “process to facilitate globalization by addressing the linguistic and cultural barriers specific to the receiver.” (O’Hagan and Ashword, 2002: 66-67)

The relationships between globalization, localization and translation are illustrated by O’Hagan and Ashword by means of the diagram below:

“Globalization, Localization and Translation with content and package conversions” (O’Hagan and Ashword, 2002: 69) 18

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This diagram shows how localization is part of globalization and translation is a component of localization. While translation is a core to both localization and globalization, globalization cannot be achieved without the inputs of localization. We can also notice that translation in general can be seen as more concerned with the content than the package, while in localization, the package is as important as the content.

Besides localization, there is a second concept that is involved in globalization – internationalization. The primary definition sees internationalization as a “technical process to prepare a product for an international market.” (O’Hagan and Asword 2002: 70) In Mossop’s opinion, internationalization consists in “removing from a text all those features which will create comprehension problems for an international audience […].” (Mossop, 2001: 167) The most important point about internationalization is that it emphasizes the role of translation in the planning of globalization, a perspective which contrasts with the traditional outlook upon translation as an isolated activity.

An important perspective upon the relationship between globalization and translation is illustrated by Nico Wiersema in his essay Globalization and Translation. A discussion of the effect of globalization in today’s translation (2004). In his opinion, translations need to be as foreignising as possible within the limits of reasonable acceptability. He notices that literary translation has changed as a result of globalization in the sense that texts have become more exotic, thus contributing to a better understanding of the source culture.

According to Wiersema, globalization refers “to mak[ing] source texts global or worldwide in understanding or application, where application refers to the teaching and/or learning about different cultures.” He states further on that since “context explains culture, adopting (not necessarily adapting) a selection of words enriches the target text, makes it more exotic and thus more interesting for those who want to learn more about the culture in question.”

Starting form Anthony Pym’s consideration that “in each translation there will be a certain distortion between cultures,” (Translation and Text Transfer: an Essay on the Principles of Intercultural Communication, 2002) Wiersema enumerates several options that a translator can choose from in order to include foreign words in a target text:

• Adopting the foreign word without any explanation • Adopting the foreign word with extensive explanations • Rewriting the text to make it more comprehensible to the target

language readers.

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Wiersema favours the first option considering that adopting the foreign word without any explanation cannot have but positive effects: the target text reads more fluently and remains more exotic, the translator is closer to the source culture and the target reader gets a more genuine image of the source culture. He concludes that the process of globalization is in keeping with a foreignising method of translation, but, since globalization decreases the element of foreigness, the target text is no longer perceived as exotic.

We believe that Wiersema’s point of view contradicts a crucial element involved in the process of translating: the target reader’s expectations. A good translator knows that the reader is the first factor to have in mind during the process of meaning transfer: will the reader be able to grasp the meaning of a particular culture specific element? Will the reader have a clear overall image upon the source culture? These are questions not to be neglected and thus, resorting to Wiersema’s technique means to risk violating the reader’s expectations. The encounter of foreign words lacking any explanation in the footnotes or endnotes makes the reading of the target text more difficult and leaves the reader with a great deal of unanswered questions.

The discussion upon globalization implies a discussion upon English as a dominant language. Translation as “an architect of authority and reality” (Sexton, 2006) has a long history and it is possible to apply this viewpoint to how translation impacts globalization. Historically, the dominant culture has always imposed its language upon the submissive culture; although the initial motivation for this may have been merely to ease communication, the actual reason was to establish control because language means communication and communication means, ultimately, power.

The strive to make English a global language for communication has started more than a century ago, but the process had to be accelerated once the Internet emerged. It was absolutely necessary for English to become the dominant language on the Internet, otherwise the marginalized languages would have made their way into cyberspace and the globalization movement would have been stopped.

In the context of globalization, translation becomes a process of negotiating for authority, always involving a dominant player, which in this case, is unanimously acknowledged to be the American culture. Nevertheless, even if America “sits atop the pyramid overseeing globalization,” (Sexton, 2006) it is clear that without the rest of the English speaking world supporting it, it could not succeed alone.

The development of international organizations such as the UN or the EU has made translation a necessity and a big business. In fact, for many

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companies, translation has become part of what is known as the GILT business (Globalization, Internationalization, Localization, and Translation). Besides, the rise of multinationals paved the way for a translation industry where the need for rapid and effective translations was crucial and human translators seemed unable to cope with the amount of work to do. Therefore, the idea of having machines do the translators’ work seemed luring.

The first real developments in Machine Translation took place after the Second World War, during which the first computers had been invented in Great Britain by Alan Turing’s team as part of the famous code breaking operation at Bletchley Park. The first machines were word-based “direct replacement” systems which would look up each source text word and replace it by a corresponding target language term.

Besides enthusiasm, Machine Translation also generated a wave of criticism, especially in the 1960s. This was the result of Yehoshua Bar-Hillel’s Report on the State of Machine Translation in the United States and Great Britain (1959), which asserted that real knowledge is necessary for translation and that it would be more realistic to attempt to create machines that work in conjunction with humans.

Following the same trend, Martin Kay (1982: 74-78) identified the main obstacles in Machine Translation as being the polysemantic words, the sentences with multiple grammatical structures and the uncertainty about what a pronoun refers to. In order to illustrate the inability of machines to provide an accurate translation, he took as example the following sentence to be translated into French:

e.g. The police refused the students a permit because they feared violence.

According to him, the difficulty in having this sentence translated by a computer consists in the fact that the machine could not know that the pronoun they stands for the police and not the students. In addition, this uncertainty about the referent of they, will lead the computer to translate it by ils, when in French, police is a [+female] noun and should be referred to as elle.

There are various misconceptions about Machine Translation and one of them refers to the fact that translation machines are useless since they could never translate literature. It may be true that computers will never be able to provide translations of great classics, but this does not mean that they are useless. First of all, because literature represents only a small part of the amount of translations that has to be done worldwide and, secondly, because translating literature is a job that translators find challenging and rewarding, a job which MT systems have not been designed for.

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MT systems have also been accused of representing a threat for the translators’ jobs, which is not the case simply because the volume of translation to be performed is constantly growing, and because the current MT systems have their own limitations. What is more likely to happen is that MT systems will be highly used to provide draft translations or to perform the tedious operations of looking up unknown words in dictionaries, allowing human translators to work only on increasing clarity and improving style.

Presently, there are several MT systems in use around the world and the most famous ones are METEO (in use since 1977 at the Canadian Meteorological Center in Montreal), SYSTRAN, LOGOS, ALPS, ENGSPAN and GLOBALINK. Although the number of organizations using MT on a daily basis is relatively small, those that use it experience its benefits. For example, in the 1990s, METEO was regularly translating around 45,000-word weather bulletins every day, from English into French to be transmitted to the media.

The main impact of Machine Translation in the immediate future will be experienced in corporate environments where large amounts of translation need to be performed in short time. What is to be remembered is that MT systems have not been designed for translating literature, but for more practical and „earthly” purposes closely related to the current trend of globalization and technological advancements. Although MT systems still have a long way to go in order to be able to handle all types of texts and achieve 100% accurate translations, it is important that they no longer represent a possibility but an actuality.

The origins of the phenomenon of globalization are purely commercial and in keeping with advertising strategies. Yet, once the first multinationals emerged and the Internet was created, translation and translators became key elements in the process of globalization: products and services had to be adapted to the clients’ linguistic and cultural background so as not to leave them the impression of being linguistically and culturally invaded by a dominant pattern. In most cases, the strategy proved very effective and this was enough to extend the phenomenon onto the field of translation. Adopting foreign words or phrases pointing to various realia of the foreign culture has been and is currently seen by some theorists as a way of enriching the target language and of getting the readers acquainted with other cultures.

However, the point that some of these theorists may miss is that besides standing for what it traditionally represents, translation has also become a method of negotiating for authority and power. Consequently, given that globalization is about redefining the power of those who already have it in their hands, translation is no longer an isolated activity

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performed in ivory towers, but a tool of the dominant ideology, which in most cases is an English one. References Hatim, B. & Munday, J. (2004). Translation: An Advanced Resource Book, London and

New York: Routledge, pp. 112-116; 213-218; 325 Kay, M. (1982). “Machine Translation” in American Journal of Computational

Linguistics vol.8 no.2, pp.74-78 Mossop, B. (2001). Editing and Revising for Translators, UK: St. Jerome Publishing O’Hagan, M. and Ashword, D. (2002). Translation-Mediated Communication in a

Digital World: Facing the Challenges of Globalization and Localization, Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Ltd., pp.66-70

Sexton, T. (July 24th, 2006). Globalization and Translation: A Tool for Extending the American Ideological Empire? <http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/44911/globalization and translation a tool.com> available on May 8th, 2008

Wiersema, N. (2004). "Globalization and translation: A discussion of the effect of globalization on today"s translation" in Translation Journal online, vol. 8, No. 1, January 2004

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/44911/globalization%20and%20translation%20a%20tool.com

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/44911/globalization%20and%20translation%20a%20tool.com





Khatuna BERIDZE Interrelation of Translation Theory and Practice with Realia as a Culturological Barrier

“Shota Rustaveli” University, GEORGIA

Keywords culturological barrier, national realia, vocative, omission, substitution, transcription Introduction This paper is the first attempt in Georgia, to analyze colonial versus postcolonial as post-Russian state and condition of translation studies’ development in the country. We think that today, when Translation theory is studied in the prism of cultural anthropology, both this discipline and literary translation should be encapsulated into culture. This research retrospectively outlines the colonial translation practice and translation theory to bring itself to the final stage of the analysis to the specific guidelines, methods and postulates of the perspective development of theirs. The history of civilization transparently shows that none of the national cultures has developed and advanced in an isolated manner, without sharing cultural riches of other cultures. This fact makes clear the importance of the role which translation in general and literary translation in particular have in the multilateral development of national cultures. Therefore, the greater is the significance of the retrospective study of translation in Georgia. Concept of Realia The untranslatability of the culturological barriers represent hindrances for the perfect communication between cultures, since the metamessages they bear in the SL text may be lost for the TL text reader. Being unique

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phenomena of a specific culture, realia as culturological barriers are also the most vulnerable phenomena in translation.

Realia, the concept which conveys the idea of culture-specific lexical units, word-combinations or set expressions, are often referred to as a translation problem or an untranslatable unit by both translators and translation theorists.

Realia are described as bearing national colour, being exotic and representing culture and identity while a translator is expected to transpose realia in a way that will bridge the gap between the SL and the TL cultures. Translation of Realia The Russian translation theorist, Latishev lays special emphasis on the culturological barriers, i.e. national realia, which are related to the different conditions of historic and social life of different cultures. (Латышев 2003: 157)

The translation of realia in the TL text poses a translator and his/her background knowledge of the recipient culture to a real challenge.

Among the existing prescriptive methods / norms of translation, there are classified and specified ones for transmitting realia, e.g. Sarolta Simigné Fenyő (Fenyő 2005: 64). The Hungarian theoretician suggests the following lexical transformation methods for realia translation:

1. Circumlocutions (explanation) 2. Additions 3. Generalization of realia 4. Total transformation of meaning 5. Division and distribution of meaning 6. Omission of meaning 7. Transliteration.

However, there are more terms and methods concerning realia transmission which include: transcription, neologism (calque, half calque, appropriation, semantic neologism), realia substitution, functional analogue, description, interpretation, borrowing, naturalization, foreignization, domestication.

In both editions (1973-1984) of Truman Capote’s novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s there are the same markers which so well can point to the strict Soviet censure, which was hostile not only towards political deviation, any freedom of mind, but also towards sexual life in general and sexual orientations in particular. It was almost impossible to pass the Soviet censure, the so-called “medical sterilization” of all the elements that were not acceptable. Therefore, presently, in the post-Soviet era both translated versions of the novella render examples of such sterilizations. For example,

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the awkward slang terms “dyke”, “dykeroo” which in neutral English mean “a lesbian”, were “masterfully” replaced with the lexical unit “spinster”. This certainly creates a lot of ambiguities for the translation recipients. It would be a good move, to exemplify what kind of ambiguity was brought to a reader by this replacement.

The Source Text reads: “Incidentally, … do you happen to know any nice lesbians? I’m looking for a roommate. Well, don’t laugh. I’m so disorganized, I simply can’t afford a maid; and really, dykes are wonderful homemakers, they love to do all the work, you never have to bother about brooms and defrosting and sending out the laundry. I had a roommate in Hollywood, she played in Westerns…but I’ll say this for her she was better than a man around the house. Of course people couldn’t help but think I must be a bit of a dyke myself. And of course I am. Everyone is: a bit. So what? This never discouraged a man yet, in fact, it seems to goad them on. Look at the Lone Ranger, married twice. Usually dykes only get married once, just for the name.” (p.133)

We have tried to paraphrase the most “dramatic” translation episodes of the TL text into English: “Incidentally, do you know any nice spinsters? ….of course people couldn’t help but think I must be a bit of a spinster myself. (in fact it is ridiculous, since the person who speaks is only 18 years old). And of course I am. Everyone is: a bit. Usually spinsters only get married once, just for the name”.

In the colonial era, the mind of the translator was diverted to the manoeuvres which could help to escape censure rather than to keep the reader provided with a trustworthy translation. This fear often led to ridiculous violations of the SL images. The translation of the above discourse into Georgian is nothing more to illustrate a sample of its preposterous lexical transformation. However, the translation offers even more sociolinguistic and culturological blunders.

For comparison: translated fiction of the colonial period was characterized by a good literary style, the language of translation was pure and refined Georgian, and all that against the background of the well-developed literature and high circulation of literary periodicals. Statistically, in the 1980s , 81 journals were printed and published, of which 98 – 97% was in Georgian.

It is obligatory to observe sociolinguistic parameters in the SL –TL text translation. In general, the Georgian translation theorist N. Sakvarelidze indicates that it’s upon a translator’s choice whether the heroes in the TL text speak in T/V forms. Meanwhile, Wardhaugh writes that the first name is compulsory among colleagues, even with a new one, after a week at work and a denial means an unfriendly gesture, or even snobbism. It is by no means a familiar address, but an accepted trait of

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speech portrait of the culture and society in the US. Having this in mind, one cannot necessarily think that friends, who have known each other for years on end, can address each other in a formal tone. Therefore, in the Georgian language, which distinguishes both singular and plural forms of address, the English realia of “you” address should be translated as “tu” and not “vou”, which is also violated in the colonial era translation. In the same novella, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” friends address each other with the “vou” form, which involuntarily reminds us of the soviet formality, of keeping distance and avoiding solidarity. Realia Transcription As the Russian translation theorist V. S. Vinogradov (Виноградов 2001: 157) points out, many of the realia turn into borrowings, since a word – realia should not and cannot be translated. Thus, it should be borrowed in the language. A word-realia can also be an exotism, which should be transcribed in translation. In some relations, this method stands as the best resort for the translator. Thus, for example, the Georgian exotism, kvevri “a special sizeable utensil made of clay, planted deep into the ground and used for keeping homemade wine,” is the one which has no functional analogue in the recipient culture. Therefore, no pragmatic equivalent can be found to substitute it. The realia also formed a lexical phraseological unit in the language: e.g. dzirgavardnili kvevri “bottomless kvevri,” symbolizing a greedy or gluttonous person. In the story written by the outstanding Georgian writer and public man of the 19th c., I. Chavchavadze, Is That a Man?! the author uses the dzirgavardnili kvevri “bottomless kvevri”, which in translation was replaced by the lexical unit “jar”: “His Highness was right too, in his opinion man was a bottomless jar into which all day there should be poured provender and drink, but it could never be filled.” Meanwhile, neither jar, nor its synonyms, beaker, bottle, burette, can, chalice, crock, cruet, decanter, ewer, flagon, flask, jug, pitcher, pot, urn, vase, vat can be comparable in size to kvevri, as all of them are of relatively smaller size. Therefore, a jar can hardly be associated with a greedy or gluttonous person by the TL reader. In this case, transcription stands as a right strategy instead of substituting a realia for a functionally inadequate word. Transcription would not only save the metatext from the wrong association, but it would also attach to it the exotic colour of the national culture.

Although it holds true that prevalence should be given to the translation of fiction which reads as a literary work (and not as a translation): “Within this polysystem, a translation of a literary work functions as a literary text in its own right” (1979, qtd in Limon) not merely as a “reproduction of another text.” Another postulate, that translation of the literary work means introduction of one culture to another, would serve

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http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/beaker

http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/bottle

http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/burette

http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/can

http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/chalice

http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/crock

http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/cruet

http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/decanter

http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/ewer

http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/flagon

http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/flask

http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/jug

http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/pitcher

http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/pot

http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/urn

http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/vase

http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/vat

as a rationale for deciding on conventional employment of transcription, as on the most salutary and serviceable method for transmitting those realia, which represent traditionally important, unique and valuable items.

Vlakhov S. and Florin S. (Влахов and Флорин 1980: 228) also argue that actual realia vocatives which bear national colouring, e.g. товарищ -> comrade, водитель -> driver, старшина -> foreman, petty officer, sergeant, доктор -> doctor, господин -> mister, генерал -> general, ваше преосвященство -> Your Eminence, паша эфенди -> Mister Pasha, маэстро -> Maestro should be rendered in translation. However, this prescriptiveness may not hold adequate in cases of hybrid nature of the SL text, containing a mixture of two cultures. The strategy of the realia vocatives transcription may mislead the TL reader to wrong conclusions unless footnote explanations are provided. To illustrate the case, the English translation of the novel Data Tutashkhia by the Georgian writer Chabua Amirejibi is worth referring to:

“Good day, Iskander-effendi! Do you remember me? The man regarded him closely. - I think you work as druggist in Otten's pharmacy...Yes, yes, at Otten's on Sololaki street...Am I mistaken? I've met you somewhere, but I can't recall for sure what it is you do..." Zarandia handed him his calling card. - This does not say that I am also chief of the secret service.”

The word-realia, bearing national colour, is transcribed as

effendi. Originally, it is a Turkish honorific suffix of the first name of the addressee. An average English reader is not expected to be fully knowledgeable of the international culture-specific realia vocatives to distinguish between Turkish-Georgian honorifics. The reader will definitely come to the conclusion that effendi is one of the Georgian realia vocatives, since there is no footnote explanation for this transcribed realia.

Realia Omission: The frequent cases of omitting realia in translation, i. e. losses of realia in the TL text points out that despite the methods accounted for above, which had been worked out by the translation scholars, the phenomenon of realia remains a culturologically hard enough barrier to overcome in practice. To make ground for the statement, it would make reason to quote from Anna Mauranen’s recent study (2002) which explores untranslatable items in translation:

“A couple of recent studies based on this corpus have raised the question of what happens to culture-specific language in translation. Sonja Tirkkonen-Condit suggested a potentially universal translation tendency:

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http://www.intralinea.it/members/profile_view_ind.php?id=39

http://www.intralinea.it/members/profile_view_ind.php?id=39

“untranslatable” items of the TL get underrepresented in translations. Her results on certain lexical items in the “fiction” subcorpus of the database supported the idea.” (Mauranen 2002:3)

The case of realia omission, exemplified below, narrows the scope of the Georgian reader not only from the culturological viewpoint, but from the sociolinguistic viewpoint as well. In the Georgian translation of the following passage in the Man of Property by J. Galsworthy: “Who?” replied Soames: “the Inspector? They sent him round from Stanhope Gate, that’s all I know. That “nonconformist” of Uncle Jolion’s has been pilfering, I shouldn’t wonder!” (Galsworthy 1972: 360) The realia “nonconformist” is a transparent derogatory marker of the language variation according to the speech situation. It reveals that the social superior, Soames Forsite, brings low not only the status of the social inferior, but also his religion. The abusive tone created in the SL text with the realia “nonconformist” is neutralized in translation, whereas the background information on class hatred, accounting for Soamses’ negative attitude towards Uncle Jolion’s servant, is also omitted along with the realia. It would be far more advantageous, if the translation contained a transcribed realia and a footnote explanation that protestants belonged mainly to the lower classes of the social hierarchy, and the congregation of the Anglican Church was made up of the representatives of the upper social class. Realia Substitution - ‘Cultural Adaptation” Realia substitution defines the case of not omitting a realia in the TL text, but of substituting it with the concept familiar to the recipient culture. This method emphasizes the reader-orientation rather than orientation on the expectations of the SL community to exhibit their unique cultural specifics to the world (this practice can be compared to the culture-import-oriented practice vs. culture-export-oriented one).

The following example from the Time of Hope by Ch. P. Snow could serve to illustrate the case of cultural adaptation: Gaping at some dirty tea leaves, reading the cards and looking at each other’s silly hands and... in which, according to V. Ivashova’s commentaries on the novel, the activity described by the author as gaping at tea leaves simply means fortune-telling (this traditional practice, along with tea leaves, might have been exported to the UK from India).

However, the prototext realia, without substitution in the metatext for the concept familiar to the recipient culture (in Georgia, popularly, black coffee is used for fortune-telling purposes) would expose a Georgian reader to unnecessary ambiguity. Employment of the method of realia substitution, is a means of reaching pragmatic equivalence in translation.

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According to the linguistic theories of translation, from the pragmatic viewpoint, the translation should be oriented towards reproduction of the analogous communicative effect on the TL reader. To achieve this goal, the translator, through pragmatic transformations (addition, omission, foreignization, formality change, speech act change, explicitation, transediting, implicitation, domestication) pragmatically adapts the metatext. The Georgian translator and translation scholar N. Sakvarelidze shares the view that realia only appear in a sporadic manner and they should be adapted in translation: “…We should not imagine as though such culturological barriers in communication as realia stands as a wall throughout the whole text. They only appear in sporadic manner and their reproduction by means of adaptation, although partly decreasing communicative-pragmatic quality, does not create global-scale hindrance for the analogization of the communicative effect.” (Sakvarelidze 2001:251)

However, relying on the study of the cycle of short stories From my Homie’s Life by the contemporary Georgian writer A. Morchiladze, we argue that realia do not only appear in a sporadic manner but can serve as a leitmotif. The realia vocative kai bichi -> good boy in the story In the Name of Saving Face has the leitmotif textual significance. Kai bichi is not just a simple combination of a modifier plus modified with the direct lexical semantic meaning, but a set expression realia, with the implied sense of affiliation with thieves. The far fetching explanation of this set expression realia goes back to the Soviet times and deals with such a phenomenon as the institution of thieves, their mentality and their use of cant. At the same time, this is a special type of realia, which maybe called “a shared realia, ”created and shared by several different cultures of the 15 different nations during the Soviet times. The institution of thieves was the union-wide community, broken into brotherhoods and groupings, with shared common rules and hierarchical order. Traditionally, the membership of the institution meant abiding by the strict laws of the community, despite of the nationality, ethnicity or confession. The institution is currently an ex Soviet rudiment and a recent post-Soviet extinct. Obviously, no similar concept could have existed in Western or Eastern Worlds. Undoubtedly, one can find equivalents for homie in Russian: свой парень Ukrainian: mïi hлопэц, in Spanish: uno de los nuestros, Italian: è uno dei nostri, German: ein guter Kumpel, French: un (bon) copain. None of the above translation variants, except the Ukrainian and Russian translations, should be supposed as direct equivalents for the Georgian realia in the sense of Newmark: “official generally accepted translation of any institutional term.” (Newmark, 1988: 89) In our translation, we have decided that transcription would be considered an inappropriate strategy for transmission of the realia, while the translation strategy of domestication of

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the realia is preferable. Firstly, because it does not stand as an important cultural realia, and secondly, because its vocative function does not dominate over its communicative function in the text: “You know I’m not a homie”. “My homie was even delighted at the occasion, - the sentence saved him from joining army”. “And to cut short, that day I was sitting with all those homies and our talks dealt with the Sicilian mafia and the beauty of it”.

Therefore, since realia emerge in literary works not only in a sporadic manner, but in abundance, sometimes even “standing as a wall throughout the whole text,” their cultural adaptation by means of demands from a translator full cultural awareness of the target foreign language and culture.

In the T. Capote’s novella, Breakfast at Tiffany’s realia “mean reds” is a the leitmotif of the whole novella, in which it means “angst”, “fear”, unexpected and threatening, looming as global danger from which the heroine, Holly Golightly wishes to hide herself away in the exclusively renowned shop of Tiffany’s, in which nothing bad can happen to her. Holly suffers from the unknown fear, which is an author’s realia – a new, invented, newly coined metaphor for identifying the same type of Soviet fear: unexpected and threatening, looming as global danger, which didn’t exist but appeared in the world in the face of the Soviets. If we guide ourselves with the concept “red” it’s the same metaphor for Soviets. So what does the author mean? Truman Capote wrote about the danger of reds in the world which was associated with unconscious fear, unconscious danger and unconscious but real threat to human beings. I don’t know how the author’s invention was translated into other languages, or how this author’s realia found their reflection but one thing can be said for certain: It was left untranslated into Georgian in 1973 and neither did this realia find adequate reflection in the 1984 edition. Instead, this leitmotif realia was substituted in every single case for different lexical units. The same is true for the Russian translation by Golisheva, the Russian translation preceding the Georgian translation. Conclusions

Without recognition and acceptance of the term “postcolonial”, no culture which underwent the empire’s regime will estimate the modern state against the colonial past, and, consequently, will never find solutions and remedies for overcoming the crisis in their development.

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Since postcolonialism has never been recognized as an accepted vector for researches in the field of translation studies in Georgia, the question of the necessity of retranslation of many of the soviet era translations has never emerged. The problem of the realia translation needs to be paid more heed, since due to the expressive and emotional tone which they bear, they are emphatic lexical means for communicating the author’s idea. The colonial era literary translations in Georgia are sterile from realia - the pragmatic / functional charge of which are beyond the restrictive soviet censure norms. Obviously, restrictiveness causes prescriptiveness – a rather uncreative approach to literary translation, the results of which we have outlined above. We believe that the postcolonial translation practice should eliminate everything that is colonial and connected with interference of politics into culture and translation as part of it. Refrences: Виноградов, В.С. (2001). Введение в переводоведение, Москва, издательство ИОСО РАО Влахов С. Флорин С. (1980). Непереводимое в переводе, Москва, издательство “Международные отношения” Латышев, Л. К. Семенов А. Л. (2003). Перевод: теория, практика и методика преподавания, Москва, Академия Newmark, P. (1988). Approaches to Translation. UK: Prentice Hall International Sakvarelidze, N. (2001). Some Issues of Translation Theory. Tbilisi: Tbilisi University Publishing House Internet and Ebrary – based references Fenyő, S. S. (2005). European Integration Studies, Miskolc, Volume 4. Number 2. pp. 61-72. http://www.ceeol.com/aspx/getdocument.aspx?logid=5&id=F274BC93-1015-4F25-961E-64A418E0FF48 Limon, D., UDK 81'25:821.163.6.03-31=111. Ljubljana. http://www.centerslo.net/files/File/simpozij/sim21/limon.pdf Mauranen, A., Intralinea (2002). http://www.intralinea.it/intra/vol5/cult2k/mauranen.htm National Integration in Soviet Georgia Author(s): J. W. R. Parsons Source: Soviet Studies, Vol. 34, No. 4, (Oct., 1982), pp. 547-569 Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/151907 Bassnett, S. (1998). Post-Colonial Translation: Theory and Practice London, UK: Routledge, 1998. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/bilgi/Doc?id=10054856&ppg=14 Hung, E. (ed.) (2005). Translation and Cultural Change : Studies in History, Norms and Image-Projection. Philadelphia, PA, USA: John Benjamins Publishing Company. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/bilgi/Doc?id=10081775&ppg=3

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Cristina CHIFANE Translating Idiomatic Expression in English Fairy Tales


A researcher into the field of translation theory and criticism should take into consideration the multiple aspects of translation. Investigating theories corresponding to the meanings of the word translation, Elena Croitoru mentions R. Bell’s three possible theories based on translation as both product and process, only as product and only as process and adds a fourth theory, the interpretive theory of translation which she defines as: “[...] a theory of translating and translation, which besides the integrated study of both, would lay equal stress on the interpretive process of any stretch of language involving linguistics, psycholinguistics, semantics, pragmatics, the cultural context, communicative competence with a translation-oriented text analysis.” (1996: 16). Out of the five types of translated texts mentioned by Peter France (2000: 89), children’s literature is undoubtedly a resourceful domain of research.

In his anthology of children’s literature, Walter Barnes (2004) focuses upon the importance of fairy tales. The same happens in the case of Nancy Anderson (2006) who includes fairy tales in the category of traditional literature for children. One of the interesting issues to be discussed when translating English fairy tales into Romanian is that of idiomatic expressions. The frequent use of English idioms and phrases represents a vital matter for any professional translator. According to Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, an idiom is defined as “a construction or expression of one language whose parts correspond to elements in another language but whose total structure or meaning is not matched in the same way in the second language.” (1996: 707) The English language is rich in idioms or combinations of words with a meaning that cannot be inferred from their separate parts.

The term idiom generally implies that the essential features of the linguistic units under consideration are stability of the lexical components

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and lack of motivation. Unlike components of free-word groups which may vary according to the needs of communication, member-words of phraseological units or idioms are always reproduced as single unchangeable collocations.

There are some debatable points concerning idioms. Dollerup brings these issues into discussion when he affirms: “[...] notably literal translation of idiomatic expressions is one of the most quoted types of error in translated texts.” (2006: 36) In addition, borderline cases between idiomatic and non-idiomatic word-groups are so numerous and confusing that the final decision seems to depend largely on one’s perception of the language. The criterion of context is very important since free word-groups make up variable contexts, whereas the essential feature of idioms is a non-variable or fixed context. Idioms could be recognized by the impossibility of attaching meaning to the members of the group taken in isolation. They are semantically and grammatically inseparable units. They may comprise unusual combinations of words which, when understood in their literal meaning, are normally uncollocable. A free word-group is transformed into an idiom when it acquires semantic inseparability and becomes synchronically non-motivated. Sometimes, extra-linguistic factors may account for the loss of motivation, too. Nowadays, scholars claim that idioms still preserve much of their initial metaphor-like characteristics: “Idiomatic speech is amply used owing to its suggestiveness, colourfulness and the creative associations it brings to mind.” (Sorea 2006: 48)

According to Perry Nodelman (1992), one of the main characteristics of children’s literature is the fact that it tends to be repetitious. English fairy tales display a large number of idioms with the following structure: as ... (an adjective) as ... (a noun). For example, the idiom as bold as brass is used in three different fairy tales: Jack the Giant Killer (Steel 1994: 88), Jack and the Beanstalk (1994: 145) and Molly Whuppie and the Double-Faced Giant (1994: 336). The meaning of this idiom is “very confident and not showing enough respect.” (Longman 2001: 135) Hulban provides a few possible translations of the English idiom into Romanian: “neobrăzat la culme, agresiv, provocator, neruşinat, insolent.” (2007: 90) This is a case of non-equivalence between the source-text and the target text, in the sense that the translator has to use a target-language word to render a source-language longer structure or, at least, he has to resort to an entirely different target-language structure. The closest variant is “neobrăzat la culme”, a structure consisting of an absolute superlative which preserves the meaning of the initial English idiom.

Another idiom with the same structure is as still as a mouse, which occurs in two English fairy tales, The Golden Ball (Steel 1994: 112) and The Black Bull of Norroway (Steel 1994: 159). The context can easily disambiguate its meaning: “Presently he heard steps coming upstairs, so he hid behind the door,

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and was as still as a mouse” (Steel 1994: 112) or “Well! she sat as still as a mouse, moving neither hand nor foot, nor even her eyes...” (Steel 1994: 159) Simply translated by means of an absolute superlative (“foarte tăcut”), the idiom misses expressiveness. The solution lies in the phrase: “to be as still as a mouse” with the much more expressive translations: “a tăcea mâlc/molcom/chitic/ca chiticul/ca peştele/ca pământul.” (Nicolescu 2003: 195)

A colourful idiom that can be found in the English fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk is the idiom as plentiful as blackberries: “Good morning”, replied Jack, wondering how the queer, little, old man happened to know his name; though, to be sure, Jacks were as plentiful as blackberries.” (Steel 1994: 138) The Romanian equivalents of this idiom are: “din belşug; puzderie; cu carul; ca frunza şi iarba.” (Nicolescu 2003: 187) Probably the second and the last of the series acquire those expressive meanings that could resemble the English ones.

In the same fairy tale, there is another idiom bearing a symmetrical pattern and appearing in a clarifying context: “[...] I bet you know how many beans make five? “Two in each hand and one in my mouth,” answered Jack readily. He really was sharp as a needle.” (Steel 1994: 138) The idiom sharp as a needle has both a literal and a metaphorical meaning, therefore two translations are possible: “1. ascuţit/tăios ca briciul. 2. ascuţit/ager la minte; pătrunzător; F deştept foc.” (Nicolescu 2003: 212) Due to the rather ironical tone to which the narrator resorts when describing Jack’s cleverness, the expressive absolute superlative “deştept foc” is evidently the best choice to translate the idiom from English into Romanian.

When bargaining with the old man to sell his cow for magical beans, Jack is asked if the exchange pleases him. He answers using the idiom “right as a trivet” (Steel 1994: 140) which means “feeling well” and could be rendered in Romanian by means of: “foarte bine; în regulă, în perfectă stare.” (Nicolescu 2003: 199) The linguistic context requires the usage of the phrase: “în regulă” or even of the word “perfect.”

The idiom as hungry as a hunter is to be found twice in the same fairy tale: “Now Jack, having had no supper, was hungry as a hunter [...].” (Steel 1994: 142) and “I’ve come to ask you for breakfast, for I had no supper, and I’m as hungry as a hunter.” (ibid.: 145) Etymologically, this idiom is explained as being invented as a result of hunters presumed to be hungry because of all the practice they are obliged to take in order to catch their quarry. (Gulland 1994: 234). If replaced by as hungry as a hawk/wolf, it bears an almost perfect equivalence in Romanian ( flămând ca un lup).

In the English fairy tale Nix Naught Nothing, the narrator resorts to the idiom clean as a new pin meaning “very clean”: “[...] in a minute the beast of the fields came trooping, and the sky was just dark with the wings of birds, and they carried away the muck, and the stable was clean as a new pin before the

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evening.” (Steel 1994: 184) The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English offers the idiomatic version (as) clean as a whistle (LDCE 2001: 233) with the same meaning. The problem is that for the latter idiom two different dictionaries provide other explanations: “clean as a whistle, (as) F sincer; franc; deschis; aprox. F → ce-i în guşă şi-n căpuşă” (Nicolescu 2003: 38) and “clean as whistle complet gol, golit de.” (Hulban 2007: 126) As regards the idiom clean as a new pin, Hulban registers the following translation variants: “foarte/extrem de curat/curat de străluceşte.” (2007: 126) The interpretation of this idiom is an instance of the presence of different syntactic structures in the source language and in the target language. Consequently, in the case of the Romanian version curat de strălucea, the English structure as ... (adjective) as ... (noun) is changed into the Romanian equivalent adjective + consecutive clause which acquires expressive connotations being synonymous with an absolute superlative.

Another idiom with expressive and superlative connotations is flat as a pancake used in the English fairy tale Mr. and Mrs. Vinegar: “One robber squashed flat as a pancake and forty golden guineas all scattered about!” (Steel 1994: 197) In contrast with the explanation (“very flat”) in The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (LDCE 2001: 53), Horia Hulban provides the following Romanian equivalents: “flat as a pancake şters, complet/cu totul plat, lipsit de interes, monoton, neexpresiv, uniform.” (Hulban 2007: 292) He also mentions three other similar idioms: “flat as a board slab/subţire ca o scândură, cu totul plat; flat as a flounder cu totul plat/lăsat/dezumflat; flat as as a fluke cu totul plat/lăsat/dezumflat.” (ibidem) On the other hand, in Dicţionar englez-român the idiom as flat as a pancake is synonymous with the idioms as flat as a board/flounder/your hand and they all bear the same translation: “cu desăvârşire plat, turtit etc.” (DER 2004: 369) None of these explanations seems appropriate for the given context, therefore the idiom should be associated with the verb squash. The entire phrase squash flat as a pancake could be translated by means of the Romanian phrase a cădea lat.

The idiom as warm as toast occurs in Mr. and Mrs. Vinegar too: “Truly, sir, my hands are as warm as toast this bitter November day.” (Steel 1994: 199) Only Dicţionar englez-român frazeologic (Nicolescu 2003: 260) registers the explanations “cald; încălzit.” The two entries do not offer an accurate translation. As a consequence, the repetition of the word cald would increase expressiveness and be closer to the source-language text.

The True History of Sir Thomas Thumb is an English fairy tale where the narrator uses the idiom as proud as Punch: “It was certainly very diverting to see Tom dressed up to the nines and as proud as Punch.” (1994: 210) The idiom is probably another version of the idiom as pleased as Punch. The possible translations of this idiom are: “fericit nevoie mare; foarte mulţumit” (GERDI 2007: 774); “în al nouălea cer, fericit ca nimeni altul, nu e altul mai

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fericit decât el” (DER 2004: 709); “peste măsură de încântat/entuziasmat” (Hulban 2007: 561); “vesel; mulţumit.” (Nicolescu 2003: 186) The best Romanian equivalent is fericit ca nimeni altul because it preserves the same pattern and the superlative meaning, although it lacks the alliterative structure.

In Molly Whuppie and the Giant, the main character’s actions are described by the idiom as light as a feather: “[…] that evening, all alone, she sped across the One Hair Bridge as light as a feather [...].” (Steel 1994: 342) The translation variants concord: “uşor ca fulgul” (GERDI 2007: 663); “uşor ca un fulg/o pană.” (Nicolescu 2003: 136) In terms of semantic equivalence, the translator preserves not only the English as ... (adjective) as ... (noun) grammatical structure, but also the same elements.

Last but not least, the English fairy tale The Rose Tree displays the idiom white as milk (Steel 1994: 356). In The Great English-Romanian Dictionary of Idioms, the adjective white collocates with different nouns: “as white as a sheet alb ca varul/cearşaful/ceara” (GERDI 2007: 859) or “as white as snow alb ca zăpada/laptele.” (ibidem) In Dicţionar englez-român, the entries are: “(as) white as snow alb ca zăpada; (as) white as a sheet alb ca varul.” (DER 2004: 1038) Hulban makes reference to the idioms “white as a sheet alb ca varul; white as chalk alb ca varul,” (2007: 843) whereas the authors of Dicţionar englez-român frazeologic offer a whole series of idioms with the adjective white in the already mentioned pattern: “white as a sheet/ashes/chalk/death, (as) alb ca varul; palid; livid. white as snow/milk/wool, (as) (d. lucruri) alb ca neaua/spuma laptelui/zăpada.” (Nicolescu 2003: 264) Out of the multitude of synonymic series, the appropriate Romanian equivalent is alb ca spuma laptelui due to the same terms of comparison which form the simile, although the Romanian idiom acquires much more expressiveness.

A major problem when translating English fairy tales into Romanian is that of collocability which refers to the restrictions on how words can be used together making up pairs of words characterized by the fact that we cannot substitute a word in a collocation for a related word and we cannot modify a collocation or apply syntactic transformations.

In St. George of Merrie England, the noun heart is used in different collocations: “[…] here, with high heart and courage, they bade each other farewell […].” (Steel 1994: 4); “Its size and appearance might well have made the stoutest heart tremble.” (Steel 1994: 6) and “Then with a bold and courageous heart, he advanced again, and smote the fiercy dragon under one of his flaming wings [...]” (Steel 1994: 7)

The collocation high heart is registered as a dictionary entry only solely under the form of a compound adjective “high-hearted mărinimos; curajos.” (DER 2004: 457) If the meaning of the collocation is with a lot of

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courage, then the narrator uses, intentionally or not, a pleonastic juxtaposition of terms which is not the case here. In fact, the collocation with high heart is syonymous with the phrase with heart and hand which has the meaning “cu tot sufletul; cu dragă inimă.” (Nicolescu 2003: 266) Furthermore, the best equivalent for the collocation the stoutest heart is cel mai curajos due to context and collocability requirements. As for the collocation with a bold and courageous heart, the narrator intentionally used a pleonasm in order to emphasize St. George’s courage in battle. Out of the two adjectives, only bold appears in collocation with the noun heart in dictionary entries of the type: “bold-hearted inimos, cutezător, îndrăzneţ.” (DER 2004: 105) A translation variant to suit the context would probably be cu mult curaj since it renders the exact hyperbolic meaning.

Another relevant example is the collocation ill time used in the same fairy tale St. George of Merrie England: “[...] thou hast come hither in an ill time, when those alive are scarcely able to bury the dead [...].” (Steel 1994: 4) → ,,[...] ai venit aici într-un moment nepotrivit, când cei în viaţă de-abia sunt în stare să-i îngroape pe cei morţi [...].” Since the adjective ill is part of different synonymic series and collocates with different words, the linguistic context is essential.

In addition, collocations express the servants’ harsh treatment of Tattercoats, the oppressed granddaughter of a lord: “[...] but she was answered only by black looks and fierce words, till she was driven from the room by the jeering servants, with blows and mocking words.” (Steel 1994: 57) The idiomatic collocation “a black/vacant look o privire goală/inexpresivă” (DER 2004: 573) is not appropriate in the given context. Originating in the phrase “he looked black privea mânios, arunca flăcări din priviri” (DER 2004: 93), the Romanian collocation cu priviri ameninţătoare is far better here. Paradoxically, DER offers the example of the collocation “fierce looks priviri sălbatice/fioroase/care te îngheaţă.” (DER 2004: 359) This does not match the context where the adjective fierce collocates with the noun words. They are both translated into Romanian by means of an equivalent collocation vorbe grele which would express the narrator’s intention to portray the servants’ mockery at the girl’s rightful pretensions.

The collocation heavy news is used by the smart Jack the Giant Killer in the story with the same title when he wants to trick the three-headed giant that five hundred men in armour are after him: “Dear coz, heavy news, God wot!” “Heavy news! echoed the giant, half afraid.” “God wot no heavy news can come to me. Have I not three heads?” (Steel 1994: 88) → “Dragă vere, veşti proaste, Dumnezeu mi-e martor!” “Veşti proaste! a răspuns uriaşul, pe jumătate înfricoşat.” “Dumnezeu ştie că veşti proate nu pot ajunge la mine. Nu am eu trei capete?” There are two translation problems in the fragment above: one of the collocation whose equivalent is generated by the

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linguistic context and one of the archaic expresion God wot!. The latter is translated as both Dumnezeu mi-e martor! and Dumnezeu ştie! since DER provides the Romanian equivalent of the verb wot which means “a şti; a cunoaşte.” (2004: 1047)

In Mr. Fox, Lady Mary is supposed to get married to a man whom she does not really know. She suspects him of foul play, so she decides to go to his house and spy on him: “And there she was in a narrow, dark passage. But at the end there was a chink of light. So she went forward and put her eye to the chink - and what do you think she saw?” (Steel 1994: 234) The explanation for the word chink taken separately is: “a small hole in a wall or between two things that join together, that lets light or air through.” (Longman 2001: 221) Consequently, the collocation a chink of light is at least partially redundant and can be translated by means of the Romanian collocation rază de lumină in the first context and by means of its literal meaning “crăpătură, despicătură” (DER 2004: 163) in the second context.

English phrases in fairy tales are more or less hard to translate according to the presence or absence of similar phrases into Romanian. As an illustration, nearly perfect equivalence appears in St. George of Merrie England in the case of the phrase his hair standing on end: “And immediately every door in the enchanted garden flew open, and the magician Ormandine appeared, his hair standing on end [...]” (Steel 1994: 12) The only possibility to translate this phrase is: “hair stands on end părul făcut măciucă” (Hulban 2007: 366); “his hair stands on end i se ridică părul măciucă.” (DER 2004: 436)

Phrases related to parts of the body are frequently used. For example, in Tom-Tit-Tot there are two phrases related to eyes: “Well, the mother she bounced up to see; but half an eye told her there was nothing save the empty dishes [...]” (Steel 1994: 26) and “And every day the small, little, black Thing laughed louder and louder and smirked more and more, and looked at her quite maliceful out of the corners of its eyes until she began to get frightened [...]” (1994: 33) The phrase half an eye is in fact an ellyptical structure from to see with half an eye: “a vedea dintr-o aruncătură de ochi/din prima clipă.” (DER 2004: 341) Hulban mentions the ellyptical phrase out of the corners of its eyes which originates in the phrase to see with the corner of one’s eye with the meaning “a vedea/privi/se uita cu coada ochiului.” (Hulban 2007: 666) The same explanation is present in the phraseological English-Romanian dictionary: “ see out of the corner of one’s eye, to a vedea cu coada ochiului; a zări/vedea în fugă/întâmplător; a-şi da seama de o situaţie dintr-o privire fugară.” (Nicolesu 2003: 207)

In Tom-Tit-Tot, the narrator uses a proverb which contains a part of the human body and is highly expressive referring to something that you say in order to warn someone not to be too confident about the result of a plan, because many things can go wrong before it is completed: “And as for

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the five skeins? Time enough to bother about them when the year came round. There was many a slip between cup and lip, and, likely as not, the King would have forgotten all about it by then.” (Steel 1994: 28) The proverb has a few kindred Romanian variants such as: “Nu aduce anul ce aduce ceasul.” (Hulban 2007: 780); “de la mână până la gură pierde-mbucătura” (Nicolescu 2003: 243); “e mult de la mână până la gură, aprox. nu zice hop până nu sari.” (DER 2004: 865) From the point of view of form, the Romanian proverb registered in DER seems appropriate, but from the point of view of content the one suggested by Hulban is adequate. I opt for the latter because I consider it preserves the meaning of the English proverb to which it adds a touch of Romanian expressiveness.

Another example of a phrase related to a part of the human body is the one in The Golden Snuff-Box: “On hearing this the servant pricked up his ears.” (Steel 1994: 44) The meaning of this phrase is not immediately evident from the context, therefore a dictionary definition disambiguates interpretation: “prick (up) your ears to listen carefully because you have heard something interesting.” (Longman 2001: 1117) As for the Romanian equivalent, the authors of different dictionaries agree upon the same translation: “a-şi ciuli urechile.” (Hulban 2007: 573; Nicolescu 2003: 188; DER 2004: 309) The above mentioned phrase is another case of nearly perfect equivalence between English and Romanian.

The phrase cast heads together is used ironically in The Wise Men of Gotham, a series of stories in which the narrator mocks at people’s stupidity and hasty actions: “When Good Friday came, the men of Gotham cast their heads together what to do with their white herrings, their red herrings, their sprats, and other salt fish.” (Steel 1994: 293). The phrase as such is not found in any dictionary, but there is a synonymic one which replaces the verb cast with the verbs lay or put: “put heads together a plănui/examina împreună, a se consulta” (Hulban 2007: 594); “lay/put heads together, to a-şi pune capetele laolaltă; a se sfătui împreună/laolaltă; a ţine sfat” (Nicolescu 2003: 129); “to lay/to put heads together a se sfătui unul cu altul, a se consulta împreună.” (DER 2004: 448) In The Penguin Dictionary of English Idioms, Gulland and Hinds-Howell notice the fact that the phrase to put their heads together might come from the proverb “Two heads are better than one.” (PDEI 1994: 77) In the previously mentioned context, the narrator’s intention is ironical, therefore the best translation is perhaps the Romanian phrase a ţine sfat due to its possible connotative meanings. There are of course many more phrases that appear in English fairy tales such as to sleep like a top which is to be found in Jack and the Beanstalk: “However, being healthy and, as a rule, happy, he soon fell asleep and slept like a top.” (Steel 1994: 141) Romanian equivalents are rather numerous: “a dormi buştean/tun” (Nicolescu 2003: 217); “a dormi buştean/dus/tun/adânc/profund” (Hulban 2007: 699); “a dormi

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buştean/neîntors/butuc; a dormi un somn de plumb” (DER 2004: 864). In my opinion, the Romanian phrase a dormi buştean is closer to the English variant.

In contrast with the Romanian fairy tales which display a variety of regionalisms, the English ones are richer in archaic forms: “St. George [...] mounted on milk-white steeds richly caparisoned, to escort him thither with all honour [...]” (Steel 1994: 7); “[...] while the roars of the two hungry lions who were to devour him ere long, deafened his ears.” (Steel 1994: 9); “[...] and, doubling the bars of the dungeon left him to languish therein.” (ibidem); “[...] he saw a towerset on a high cliff, and riding thitherward determined to ask for food.” (Steel 1994: 10); “[...] just as the champion’s strength was nigh finished, the giant stumbled on the root of a tree [...]” (Steel 1994: 11); “On the top of yonder high hill is an enchanted castle kept by a giant named Galligantua [...]” (Steel 1994: 99); “[..] but most of all do I grieve for a duke’s daughter whom they kidnapped in her father’s garden, bringing her hither in a burning chariot drawn by fiery dragons.” (Steel 1994: 100) A good bilingual dictionary provides the assiduous translator with proper translations of the above mentioned archaic forms: “thither într-acolo; acolo” (DER 2004: 943); “ere mai înainte, mai de mult” (DER 2004: 329); “therein acolo” (DER 2004: 940); “thitherward într-acolo, spre acel loc, acolo” (DER 2004: 943); “nigh aproape” (DER 2004: 641); “yonder acolo, colo, de acolo” (DER 004: 1053); “hither încoace.” (DER 2004: 460) All these archaic forms are a proof of the fact that fairy tales portray a fantastic world creating the illusion that this world was once real and so were the characters who populate it. Idioms and phrases, collocations and archaic forms are cultural specific elements which have to be carefully identified, interpreted, understood and translated.

To conclude, translating fairy tales is by no means a peripheral domain of research. I consider that studying them is a productive field of activity, challenging for any literary scholar or linguist and especially for a translator who has to prove a lot of different skills to successfully achieve his goal: finding the best equivalent in the target languge.

References

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Anderson, N. (2006). Elementary Children’s Literature, Boston: Pearson Education Barnes, W. (2004). Types of Children’s Literature, http://www.gutenberg.net Bell, R. (2000). Teoria şi practica traducerii, Polirom: Iaşi Croitoru, E. (1996). Interpretation and Translation, Galaţi: Porto-Franco Crossby-Holland, K. (1988). Folktales of the British Isles, New York: Pantheon Books Dollerup, C. (2006). Basics of Translation Studies, Iaşi: Institutul European France, P. (2000). The Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation, Oxford:

Oxford University Press Garner, A. (1985). British Fairy Tales, New York: Delacorte Press Gulland, D. M., Hinds-Howell, D. (1994). The Penguin Dictionary of English Idioms,

London: Penguin Books Hulban, H. (2007). Dicţionar englez-român de expresii şi locuţiuni, Iaşi: Polirom Jacobs, J. (1993). English Fairy Tales, Dover: Dover Publications Nicolescu, A., Pamfil-Teodoreanu, L., Preda, I., Tatos, M. (2003). Dicţionar

frazeologic englez-român, Bucureşti: Teora Nodelman, P. (2006). Crosscurents of Children’s Literature, Oxford: Oxford University

Press Săileanu, C. (2007). Gerdi: The Great English-Romanian Dictionary of Idioms, Bucureşti:

Coresi Sorea, D. (2006). Translation: Theory and Practice, Bucureşti: Coresi Steel, A. F. (1994). English Fairy Tales, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Classics *** (2004). Dicţionar englez-român, Ediţia a II-a, Bucureşti: Univers Enciclopedic *** (2005). Fairy Tale Companion: British and Irish Fairy Tales, Oxford: Oxford

University Press ***(2001). Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, third edition, London:

Longman ***(1996). Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, New

York: Gramercy Books

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Ramona CIORANU Translating for the Media

„Dunărea de Jos”University of Galaţi, ROMANIA

1. Media is not a simple concept, and this fact is illustrated by the various possible dictionary definitions provided for this term. Media refers to “all the organizations, such as television, radio and the newspapers that provide information for the public” (LDCE, 1995). Moreover, the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary suggests that media includes “the main ways that large numbers of people receive information and entertainment, that is television, radio, newspapers and the Internet” (2005). Interestingly enough, the Webster’s Dictionary Unabridged (1993) provides a bivalent definition, the term media which may be used to denote, on the one hand, “a channel, method or system of communication, information or entertainment (...whether magazine, newspaper, radio, television or public platform)” and “a vehicle (as a radio or television program or newspaper) used to carry advertising,” on the other. Although not numerous, these definitions give us a clue about the complexity of the media concept.

As regards the newspapers, this media instrument developed in the sixteenth century, but reached a mass audience directly only in the nineteenth century. The media development went hand in hand with the development of technology that allowed the massive duplication of material. Physical duplication technologies such as printing, record pressing and film duplication allowed the duplication of books, newspapers and movies at low prices for huge audiences. Moreover, radio and television allowed the electronic duplication of information for the first time.

As suggested by the above definitions, the term media can be used to denote different realities: 1) business and social concerns (advertising,

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marketing, propaganda, public relations, political communications); 2) education; 3) entertainment (acting, music, sports, etc.)

Although media is seen as one of the means of promoting development, there are aspects which favour a negative perception of this phenomenon. Manipulation of masses is probably the most important negative aspect characterizing the media, this manipulation being often achieved by means of media outlets, for the benefit of a particular political party or group of people. Nevertheless, the fact cannot be ignored that media facilitates public mass distribution of news and entertainment such as newspapers, television, radio and this is definitely an advantage for the large public.

With the emergence of the internet, media has extended its activity by developing a new branch, namely the internet media which includes online resources such as television, personal web pages, message boards, blogs, video hosting services, newspapers, etc..

Nowadays, individuals have a means of potential exposure on a scale comparable to what was previously restricted to the selected group of mass media producers. Unexpected as it may seem, the internet is quickly becoming the centre of mass media due to the fact that information is more accessible via this communication channel. Instead of picking up a newspaper or watching the news on TV, many people choose to surf the internet in order to get the news they want and, more importantly, when they want.

Many other people listen to the radio on the internet while sitting at their desk and children often choose the internet to play games online. Strange enough, even the education system relies on the internet nowadays. Teachers keep in touch with the entire class by sending e-mails and instant messages and they often have web pages providing students with a copy of the class outline or assignments. Moreover, some classes even have collective blogs where students must post information weekly, and are graded on their contributions.

However powerful, the internet cannot cover all the needs of the large public. No matter how accessible and fashionable, media should not be limited to the internet resources. This communication tool should still be doubled by the more traditional media instruments, i.e. the newspapers, the radio and the television.

2. Media translators were believed to be quiet people, solitary creatures who loved living surrounded by fat reference books and bulky dictionaries. Translators were considered to be meticulous and hard workers, reliable and diligent, sometimes true wizards when it came to

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words. But they were also thought to have a slightly out of control passion for detail which often made them waste precious time looking up inconsequential matters in order to get everything right.

Taking these aspects into account, the conclusion might be drawn that media translators should not run the subtitling business. Nevertheless, there is new evidence today that media translators are not at all representative for the description above. Subtitling translators are imaginative, active, determined people with a lot of stamina when it comes to looking after their interests. They show a flexible working force, they are willing and able to muster a lot of courage and solidarity. In November 1996, one of Holland’s largest business magazines, “Management Team” issued an article about employee flexibility which can very well stand in for the translator’s work nowadays: Today’s employee has become a Jack-of-all-trades. He is able to manage and execute tasks, to perform damage control before damage occurs, to stand in for colleagues, and to process an endless flow of information. He is in a permanent state of reorganization, delivers a first class product, and manages all this ‘just in time’ with a limited amount of people on a temporary contract. (Buitelaar, qtd. in Hempen 1998: 54)

Why are media translators different from the other translators? Why good translators are not necessarily good subtitlers? What additional language skills must subtitlers have at their command? These questions have no definite answer, but maybe if we see what sets subtitling apart from other forms of language transfer, then we could also see the extra requirements of a media translator.

The idea is generally shared that, different from the paper, which is patient, film and video are not. Each subtitle appears on the screen for no more than a few seconds. This brevity is due to the fact that subtitles work well only when the viewers or the audience can understand them without difficulty. The language of subtitles should always be built on simple sentence structures and tortuous explanations should be broken down into digestible chunks. In addition, subtitles should form a logical unit in themselves. This does not mean that they should invariably be self-contained, but the breaks should be made logically and when semantic consideration allows. Illustrative, in this respect, could be the example below:

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RIGHT France is one of the world’s major economic powers alongside the United States, Britain, Germany and Japan. WRONG France is one of the world’s major economic powers alongside the United States, Britain, Germany and Japan.

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Subtitling presupposes the ability to condense, omit and paraphrase

because time is limited and so is the space. Fast speakers can be a real challenge to a translator who is accustomed to producing a faithful, accurate and exhaustive rendering of the original.

As language professionals, translators have a tendency to place high expectations in the literacy standard of their audience. There is always the temptation to show off our linguistic prowess. But this doesn’t mean that subtitlers should limit to the most elementary forms of language but they should always have a good idea of their target audience and adapt their language accordingly.

A good subtitler renders subtitles, which, while being perfectly legible, actually give the impression of merging into the background. They are no more than a support for the visuals. Ideally, the audience should leave the cinema or switch off the television having understood the film but without having made any conscious effort to read the subtitles.

Media professionals and translators are increasingly involved in the production of videos and multimedia presentations for the European market which advertise goods and services, promote a corporate image, communicate information, etc. Although translation agencies normally assign work to the translators whose services they employ on the basis of a field of expertise, such as medicine, law, engineering, there does not seem to be a corresponding category for the translation of commercial voice-over scripts. An analysis of the nature of the task clearly shows that audio-visual translation constitutes a very distinctive type and requires strategies on the part of the translator which are just as specific as those required for other kinds of translations, such as the translation of legal documents, scientific texts, etc.

Translators are generally unprepared for the translation of voice-over scripts which they tend to treat like non audio-visual texts. Even more important is the fact that, just as translators are unaware of the requirements inherent to the audio-visual dimension, media professionals tend to underestimate the complexity of the linguistic and cultural transfer and misunderstand the constraints within which the translator must operate.

Sources of difficulties are extremely varied and not always predictable, even for those who may already have some experience of the process. Some of these problems include: 1) inadequate information to the translator (for example, when the script is isolated from the audio-visual

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context), 2) text length, 3) spoken text (a phonetically appealing word in one language may turn into something very dry and unattractive once delivered with a foreign accent), 4) culture-specific elements, 5) gender, 6) puns with a visual dimension (Our garage doors are out of this world! Uşile garajului nostru sunt absolut fenomenale!; in the video there are images with stars and planets, but that the translator was provided only with the script).

To produce a programme for a home audience and expect it to work for a foreign audience by simply substituting a foreign voice-over to the original one and changing the odd caption at the final stage of the production is unrealistic. It is a recipe for problems, poor quality and unnecessary high costs to the client. The best results can only be achieved if the target viewers are taken into account from the outset. One must “think foreign” right from the start and manage the entire project accordingly. The foreign dimension being both linguistic and cultural, different foreign versions can present different difficulties and require different solutions. In order to make the entire operation successful, both language and audio-visual specialists need to understand each other’s objectives, constraints and problems. Unfortunately, such mutual understanding is rather an exception than a norm. Hence, the importance of optimising the flow of information between all the specialists involved throughout the process. Educational institutions and professional organizations also need to ensure that appropriate skills are taught as part of their training programmes to create the bridges required between the different specialists.

Media translators are more than just translators. Besides the requirements of a translator they must have interpreting skills and editing knowledge. Subtitling, which is the part we considered so far, implies more than just a translation. It is a combination of translation, interpretation and editing skills. A subtitler is not only transferring the dialogue from one language into another. He must reduce the original speech; he has to make a conversation from spoken language into written language. He has to take into consideration also what happens on the screen, the action, the movement of the characters, facial expressions, as well as what is happening on the soundtrack, the tone of voice, hesitations, etc. And he has to do all these within the constraints of time coding conventions, since time is one of the key factors.

It is only natural to conclude that the complex nature of subtitling demands special tuition. This is why during the last years, schools of translation and interpretation developed special programmes for training subtitlers. Media translation through the importance acquired in the last years has earned a place in the translation industry.

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One issue that will get special attention in this paper is going to be the translation for the newspapers.

3. Newspapers translation has some peculiarities which distinguish it from generic non-fiction translation. At first sight, one could think that a newspaper text, since it expresses facts, communicates information, is a purely denotative text, therefore relatively easy to translate as far as construction and style are concerned, with a few difficulties of lexical order at the most.

Actually, texts are heterogeneous in a newspaper and this variety of articles may create problems even to experienced translators. There are economic or juridical articles which need a very good command of specific terminology. As regards the articles presenting news and current events and the funny page, they are often abundant in culture specific elements. Moreover, the articles related to politics require background knowledge about political parties, debates, old contradictions, unsolved issues that determined a certain position of one party with respect to another one.

Special attention should be devoted to headlines which, journalistically speaking, must have a life of their own. They have to be short and clear and they have to give the gist or at least part of it to the readers, to raise their interest, to determine people to buy that newspaper only when reading one of its headlines. Depending on the newspaper type, the approach is different. Some headlines raise interest by astonishing the readers, other more subtle headlines may only generate pertinent questions. However, newspaper headlines deserve special attention and analysis, as their inappropriate translation may change the readers’ perspective on the whole article.

3.1. Sections devoted to news reports are those usually having the highest denotative content. While reporting international, national or local events or paraphrasing press releases the personal or political comment of the journalist is usually minimal and so are the connotative meanings. In this kind of translation the difficulties are mainly connected to the standard form in which news is communicated in different cultures. For example, in an English news chronicle the verb usually takes end position in the main clause, especially verbs like to say, e.g.: The shot was heard in the area of half a mile, Mr Homer reported. When translating such texts into other languages which do not favour placing the main clause in a final position, the translator should reconstruct the sentence inserting the main verb in a standard position: Domnul Homer relatează că împuşcătura s-a auzit pe o rază de jumătate de milă.

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3.2. Political commentaries can create serious problems in translation. This is due to the fact that politicians very readily create new words and terms and their discourse is quite often culturally marked. Different from literary texts, newspaper translations, do not favour the use of explanatory footnotes, because readers must be able to "consume" articles even in unfavourable contextual conditions (on a bus, in the lunch break, half asleep in the morning). The translator therefore can choose to provide brief explanations for the less accessible or untranslatable term(s), insert a "translator’s note", and then continue his report. A bracketed explanation is definitely very useful for politically unaware readers informed about the fact that Peres declared that the road map [a plan by the European Union and the United States to find a solution to the Near-East conflict. Translator’s note] is still a feasible strategy. Such clarifications are necessary when an expression has not been widely used, but they could definitely be left out a few weeks after the introduction of the term.

3.3. Newspaper texts contain numerous culture-specific implicit elements. This probably happens because many newspapers are published every day. Their high frequency implies that time is taken for granted. This may affect readers who stay abroad for longer periods of time because they are likely to have trouble in understanding the realities referred to in certain local newspapers. In order to understand today’s newspaper readers must be familiar with yesterday’s news. This is due to the fact that many newspaper articles constitute huge hypertexts which make direct reference to previous editions.

Another element that newspapers always take for granted is the place. When news doesn’t report any information on place, the town where the paper is printed is implied (and in this case a street named or the place where an event took place, without specifying the town). Another feature of newspapers is the use of local lexicon. In some city newspapers, stories in dialect can be published. Often, but in explicitly international papers such as the International Herald Tribune, the local variant of the language in question prevails, even if proper dialect is not used.

3.4. In newspapers there are the so-called "culture page" articles. This term refers to essay-like stories and/or opinions often not devoted to the current day’s happenings, but to events which could be published as much as a month earlier or later. Such articles are real essays and essay translation is seldom a category on its own, isolated from other types of translated texts. This is due to the old distinction between "literary translation" and "technical translation," which presumably cover the whole spectrum of text types.

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Essay translation concerns texts that are neither fiction nor poetry. Hence it is comprised within the limits of non-fiction. Different from a scientific or field-specific text, the aesthetic component is sometimes very important in an essay text. The subject can be philosophical, political, literary, scientific or closely related to society (differing from fiction, therefore, in that the subject is always connected to an organized field of knowledge). But, unlike the scientific article, the argument is sometimes made without punctual and forced references to the relative bibliography. While in a scientific article all statements must result from other quoted scientific articles or empirical experiments made by the writing researcher, the elegance of treatment allows to take for granted the references that are considered well-known. The intertextual reference in an essay can, therefore, be implicit, the essay being less fixed on updating the international scientific community on the latest research developments in a given field than on making reflections of more general character more for orienting the background methodology than detailing the single experiment.

To conclude, translation, whether commercial or literary, is an activity that is constantly growing in today’s globalized world. Technological changes are affecting communication modes and have a profound impact on the professions of translators and interpreters to such an extent that new professions will result. Media translators may be one of the new professions to show up. All the technical knowledge necessary to a subtitler, the experience needed to provide a good newspaper translation, the skills or maybe the art to translate headlines, or movie titles, not to mention the world of advertising with audio-visual commercials require new strategies on the part of the translator which are just as specific as those required for other kinds of specialized translations.

The media market place and the ferocious competition between service providers are of huge importance nowadays, because everyone is affected in their daily life, in their relationships, in their work, in their concepts of time and languages, etc. New niches are opening up for translators since there is a growing demand for the editing of texts written in English.

With the rapid developments in the media, with such breakthroughs as interactive media or Multilanguage productions it is difficult to predict what future may bring in media translation. Translator’s training should not only prepare these language culture mediators for immediate tasks, but also provide them with a sound foundation for facing future challenges.

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References Bassnett, S. (1994). Translation Studies, revised edition, Routledge Cook, G. (2001). The Discourse of Advertising, Second Edition, London Croitoru, E. (1996). Interpretation and Translation, Galati: Editura Porto – Franco Croitoru, E. (2004). Confusables as Translation Traps, Iasi: Institutul European David, K. (2004). Translating Cultures (An introduction for Translators, Interpreters and

Mediators), St. Jerome Publishing Delisle, J. (1984). L'analyse du discours comme méthode de traduction. Initiation à la

traduction française de textes pragmatiques anglais, Ottawa, Éditions de l'Université d'Ottawa

Gambier, Y. (1996). Translating for the Media, Papers from the International Conference Languages & The Media, Berlin, University of Turku, Centre for Translation and Interpreting

Hansen, G., Malmakjaer, K., Gile, D. (2001). Claims, Changes and Challenges in Translation Studies: selected contribution from the EST Congress, Copenhagen

Hatim, B., Mason, I. (1992). Discourse and the Translator, London and New York: Longman

Lombardo, L., Haarman, L., Morley, J., Taylor, C. (1999). Massed Medias, Trieste, Edizioni Universitarie di Lettere Economia Diritto

O’Hagan, M., Ashworth, D. (2002). Translation-mediated Communication in a Digital World – Facing the Challenges of Globalization and Localization, Toronto

Reah, D. (2006). The Language of Newspapers, second Edition, London Sapir, E. (1921). Language: An introduction to the study of speech. New York:

Harcourt, Brace and company Wagner, E. (2002). Translating for the European Union Institutions, St. Jerome

Publishing *** Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English. (2005). Hornby, Seventh

Edition, Oxford University Press. *** Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. (1995). Third Edition, Longman

Group Ltd. *** Webster’s Third New International Dictionary Unabridged. (1993). USA: Merriam –

Webster, Incorporated. *** TV Mania, 12 (128)/ 2001 la 21 (450)/ 2007, Bucuresti: Ringier Romania. *** Ziarul financiar, editia online, http://www.zf.ro/

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Elena CROITORU Identity in Cultural Diversity Through Translation


1. Culture and language diversity Culture is essential to the teaching of a language. Teaching English as an international language (EIL) entails studying the cultural dimension since as “it is virtually impossible to teach a language without teaching cultural content,” (Valdes 1986: 121) although according to some, EIL is nothing more than English for specific purposes (ESP). Thus, given the fact that culture is part of the interaction between language and thought, it is essential in teaching a language. This argument may be closely related to the first part of the definition of culture, i.e. the part referring to the patterned ways of thinking, feeling, and reacting: “Culture is a fuzzy set of attitudes, beliefs, behavioural conventions and basic assumptions and values that are shared by a group of people, and that influence each member’s behaviour and each member’s interpretation of the ‘meaning’ of other people’s behavior.” (Spencer – Oatey 2002: 4) Therefore, it is these patterned ways that mark the differences between cultures.

On the other hand, the key role in differentiating cultures belongs to values which are paid special attention in most definitions of culture, since they are vital in pointing out differences between and across cultures, nations, cultural groups (ibid: 50).

1.1. Nations are characterized by diversity being composed of various, different cultural groups. According to Bonvillain (2003: 76), “[S]peech behaviour should be analyzed in its widest cultural and social context in order to discover culturally relevant features of variation.”

To put it differently, the reality of real life lies behind a certain culture, and a certain language. When faced with this reality, people experience the impact of the cultural shock, cultural switches, cultural expectations and adaptations, or other realities such as: cultural assumptions, cultural

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dominance, cultural background, language culture and, above all, cultural identity. These realities correspond to real life concepts which prove that cultures differ.

As a matter of fact, as Kovačević (2007) argues, “[A]ssuming or ignoring, in abstracto, that they do not [differ] is a misconception, often coming from a lack of real life contact with another cultural system. We have the ability to bring this impact to consciousness, yet it is a rare quality presumably not exercised by many, for understanding why cultures and their languages bear that special mark of singularity and uniqueness may be as joyful as painful, no matter how much we may wish to remain in the sacred ground of detached objectivity.” (Kovačević 2007: 37, emphasis in the original)

According to Sapir (1985: 160), “[…] the ‘real world’ is to a large extent unconsciously built upon the language habits of the group. No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. The worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds […]” (emphasis added). That is why the language habits of one community entail certain choices of interpretation.

Furthermore, as Katan (2004: 3) pointed out, “culture is a reality that is social, political, and ideological, and the difficulty of understanding cultural codes stems from the difficulty of viewing the world from another perspective, not of grasping another lexical or grammatical code.”

Such aspects are crucial to translators who have to negotiate between two cultural systems, since “the impact a translation has upon its own cultural milieu is more important than an impossible equivalence with the original.” (Eco 2003: 5)

1.2. It is generally accepted that language reflects cultural patterns, traditions and customs. Moreover, specific behaviour within one area of life may differ. In this respect, it is extremely interesting to study how cultural differences are conceptualized and how cultural concepts are linked to speech behaviour.

Moreover, it would really be very useful to study whether “more promising ways to conceptualize and measure cultures, especially when studying speech behaviour, can be found in bringing together concepts from different disciplines including social psychology, pragmatics, linguistics, the psychology of culture.” (Bond, Žegarac and Spencer-Oatey 2000, in Spencer-Oatey 2000: 48) However, the range of common human experience is sufficiently similar to provide a basis for mutual understanding. Certainly, the similarities that unite mankind as a cultural ‘species’ are much greater than the differences that separate.” (Nida 1964: 55, emphasis added)

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On the one hand, people are able to adjust to the dialect of others, and this will help them recognize other ‘tokens’ of behaviour and adjust to such tokens as an organized system. On the other hand, people within a speech community use the words, phrases and grammatical constructions specific to that community, this being the mark of their identity. In other words, people’s choices in speech styles are related to their identity.

2. Cultural identity across borders: a pseudo-identity? The distinctions between peoples, made clearer by the national

boundaries, are recognized in most, if not all, languages and are obvious in their behaviour, beliefs, customs and traditions. Moreover, various (sub)cultures overlap in the space of a country, and this overlap may or may not be in favour of the view that identity is an entity in an on-going process of formation. Thus, the geographical environment, the spiritual tradition and the historical belonging, that is the particular history in which it is integrated, differentiate one identity from another.

2.1. Every speech community shows linguistic variation. It also shows aspects that are culturally and socially acceptable, on the one hand, and linguistically grammatical, on the other. This is based on the fact that the definition of the language used by a speech community has its roots in the notions of language diversity, language variety and style diversity. People outside a certain culture can use the language of the speech community living within those cultural boundaries. Most often, cultural conflict occurs, especially when words and expressions are used out of context and in inadequate or inappropriate ways. Sometimes, they are used even in offensive ways. In such situations the style of speech is identified to be specific to another speech community. But, at the same time, there are no norms and constraints of the source community accompanying it.

Nevertheless, the concept of speech community does not unravel with conflict, and shifts of identity. Rather, the efficacy of this concept can be seen in the relationship between linguistics and identity, culture and society. “The concept of speech community binds the importance of local knowledge and communicative competence in discursive activities so that members can identify insiders from outsiders, those passing as members and those living in contact zones and borderlands.” (Morgan 2001, qtd. in Duranti 2001: 33)

Thus, speech community is referred to as a fundamental unit of analysis, because the definition of the language binding it is based on the notion of language diversity, varieties and styles. Conflicts over language use are part of negotiation, since configurations of language use differ from one cultural context to another. As a result, any linguistic form gains different meanings in different cultural contexts.

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On this line of thinking, we share Spencer- Oatey’s (2002: 166) opinion that “[I]f interactants from different cultural backgrounds are unaware of the differences in their respective mental sets, misunderstandings are likely to occur. Misunderstandings of this sort involve the carryover of culture-specific knowledge from a situation of intracultural communication to a situation of intercultural communication.”

Thus, the concept of speech community is fundamental in understanding identity and ideology, on the one hand, and the discussions on variation, intelligibility, communicative competence and cultural concerns, on the other. In this respect, it is obvious that a speech community refers to “speakers who participate in interactions based on social and cultural norms and values that are regulated, represented, and recreated through discursive practices” and assumes that “when people come together through discursive practices, they behave as though they operate within a shared set of norms, local knowledge, beliefs and values.” (Morgan 2001, in Duranti 2001: 31)

2.2. The boundaries of a speech community are the same with the geographical boundaries of lexical items. Nevertheless, research in bilingual and multilingual societies pointed out the importance of a definition focused on language in social life. Labov (1984), Gumperz (1982, 1992), Hymes (1972) and Halliday (1978) argue that focus should be laid on interaction as a social process, which means that speech communities are in conflict over issues of linguistic diversity.

It is interesting to see how “the accessibility of what were previously national and cultural boundaries has resulted in people from outside these cultures appropriating the language of speech communities to which they have no social or cultural relationship. In fact, cultural conflict can arise when those who are familiar with communities where they may not share membership, use a language or jargon for emphasis, play, or to align with an ‘outside ‘ identity within the boundaries of their own communities” (Morgan 2001, in Duranti 2001: 32).

In addition, in situations of cultural conflict, the style may be that specific to another speech community, but the target text (TT) misses the values and expectations of the source speech community. Some words and expressions, especially the cultural ‘contextualizers’ are used in inappropriate ways.

2.3. The cultural context in which the text was created is as important as the cultural context of the target readers (TRs). However, considering the aspects mentioned above, there may be a chimera-like sense of identity in the TT. In other words, what the TRs find may be a

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pseudo-identity constructed by the norms of the target language culture (TLC) specificity. The question may arise: How can the identity of the SLC be preserved when there is no corresponding reality in the TLC, hence there is no TL ‘equivalent’ for some word, phrase or structure in the ST? A possible answer is that the translator has to find some means of expression to render the way in which the reality is perceived in the SLC by some means specific to the TLC. Thus, there will be a sort of re-conceptualization of the notion of reality and this may lead to the well-known translation losses. Therefore, we believe that rendering cultural identity across borders may be interpreted as re-conceptualization of reality and implies re-interpretation and re-contextualization.

This task is so much the more complex as identity has to be viewed not only synchronically, but also diachronically. Diachronically speaking, contemporary culture is the product of anterior representations, a view dominating postmodernism. We also share the idea that contemporary representations and identities are a palimpsest , that is they are perceived as traces of former representations and identifications and have to be re-worked, re-interpreted and re-contextualized.

The consequence is that the TRs have to unawares accept the pseudo-identity of the TT.

In addition, “speakers from different cultural backgrounds may have different interpretations of what it means to be true, relevant or clear.” (Kramsch 1998: 31) One reason is that different cultures may have different conventions as to what is appropriate in what context. Another reason is that the style of speech differs from one cultural context to another due to people’s degree of sensitivity to contextual cues and to their ability of adjusting their speech accordingly. In this respect, Bonvillain’s opinion is worth mentioning: “Components of speech contexts such as setting, participants, topics and goals, all influence speech. In some cultures, the styles of speech used in different contexts are sharply distinguished, whereas in others, linguistic styles are less differentiated. Even within a culture, some people are more sensitive than others to contextual cues and adjust their speech accordingly. Sensitivity to context may be related to such social factors as gender or class, or it may be related to an individual’s participation in many different types of situations.” (Bonvillain 2003: 5)

Consequently, an approach to identity lays stress on studying the specific categories of vocabulary and types of grammatical constructions. This points out the close connection with the ethnolinguistic approach to language, culture and communication that puts into evidence underlying cultural models and highlights the cognitive links that bring people together within their own culture: “Studying language use within speech communities from an ethnolinguistic approach includes analysis of

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contexts, norms of appropriateness, and knowledge of language and its uses. Analyses of these facets of communicative behaviour reveal underlying cultural models and demonstrate the cognitive and conceptual bonds that unify people within their culture.” (ibid: 4)

3. Preserving identity in cultural diversity through translation It is as important as difficult to preserve identity in cultural diversity,

so much the more that English is the leading exponent of a phenomenon that has come to be called international standardization. The basic idea of international standardization is that it is the most powerful language culture, which is the privileged one, that exerts the greatest influence on the way texts are translated. The greatest difficulty to overcome is that in translating a text into a TLC which is very different from the SLC, negotiation is not performed on definitely equal terms, but it is always slanted towards the privileged language culture.

3.1. It is generally accepted that the deeper the gap between the two cultures, the greater the translation problems and the more difficult the translator’s task. The translator’ s task is even harder, since, as Baker (2006) argues, (s)he is “often called upon to bridge the ideological chasm separating the two cultures. In fact, cultural differences tend to take over from ideological differences and become practically indistinguishable from them, especially when there is a ‘clash of civilizations’. ” (Baker 2006: 41)

Considering this one of the most important aspects of translation, if not the crucial one, I suggested a clash of cultures to be at the basis of the whole translating process (Croitoru 2009: 116).

In dealing with cultural diversity, stress is also laid on cultural factors, social distinctions and patterns of linguistic variation, the social differences marking the linguistic differences. This proves once more the close connection with the socio-linguistic approach to language, culture and communication.

In order to preserve identity in cultural diversity, the translator’s task is very difficult, because, as Gutt (1998) puts it, “by translating a text for a target audience with a cultural background other than that envisioned by the original writer, the translator is, in effect, quoting the original author ‘out of context’ (Gutt 1998: 49). Given the fact that the ‘quoting out of context’ is usually negative, he prefers to call all instances where a text is presented to an audience with a context different from the one originally envisaged as “secondary communication situations.” (Gutt 1991: 72 ff)

As regards the problems brought about by the differences in context, Schleiermacher’s distinction can be mentioned: “the translator can either leave the author in peace as much as possible and bring the reader to him, or he can leave the reader in peace as much as possible and bring the writer to him (Schleiermacher 1838: 47, as translated in Wills 1982: 33).

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Schleiermacher’s approach was based on the individual’s inner feelings and understanding. As far as interpretation is concerned, he considers that “a special language of translation may be necessary, for example compensating in one place with an imaginative word whereas elsewhere the translator has to do with a hackneyed expression that cannot convey the impression of the foreign (Schleiermacher 1813/1992: 45).

I think that Schleiermacher’s opinion also holds valid as regards translating culture-specific elements. Otherwise, the TT will sound ‘foreign’, the ‘alienating’ words and phrases hindering the TRs’ interpretation and understanding of the ST. As a consequence, very unnatural translations will be produced. In this respect, the well-known simile about the translator ‘dancing on ropes with fettered legs’ is even more valid.

The ‘alienating’ and ‘naturalizing’ opposites are taken up by Venuti (2000) as ‘foreignization’ and ‘domestication’, or by Ulrych (2000).

As Munday (2001) explains, “ […] since the ST meaning is couched in language that is very culture- bound and to which the TL can never fully correspond – the real situation, according to Schleiermacher, is how to bring the ST writer and the TT reader together. He moves beyond the issues of word-for-word, sense-for-sense, literal, faithful and free translation, and considers there to be only two paths open for the ‘true’ translator.” (Munday, 2001: 27)

3.2. Due to the differences in language and culture, shifts in translation always occur, because the translator strives to reproduce the text faithfully and to make it understood as an organic and independent whole. Although the principle shared is overall faithfulness, it will be associated with a comparatively free treatment of details. The shifts that need to be made in translation entail the “shift of expression” which is “the basic principle governing the changes that occur in translation. An analysis of the shifts of expression, applied to all levels of the text, will bring to light the general system of the translation, with its dominant and subordinate elements (Popovič 1970, in Holmes 1970: 85).

As not all ST readers or their contexts are the same, so are the TT readers quite different and situated in context which are different from any of the ST readers.

Thus, as translation has an identity of its own, which has to excite the imagination of the TRs in a way equivalent to that of the ST and needs to be understood by them as it is by the ST readers. In order to achieve this goal, the translator uses a “cultural filter” which is “often so expertly integrated into the fabric of the text that the seams do not show” (Hickey 1998: 66). Due to the use of such a “cultural filter”, there will be some distance

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between the ST and the TT more as regards the form. To all this, since functional equivalence has to be achieved, the TT will be received as if it were an original text.

4. To conclude, one of the main difficulties faced by the translator is that there are differences between languages and cultural contexts. The translator needs to be aware of such differences in order to find appropriate solutions and judge the degree of their effects correctly.

The translator’s cultural competence will be prevailing in making distinctions between texts and contexts, given the asymmetric character of the different languages and cultures.

The translator’s task becomes very difficult in rendering the ‘local colour’ which is specific to the ST so that the TT should follow the ‘breath’ of the SLC.

References

Baker, M. (2006). Translation and Conflict, London and New York: Routledge Bassnett, S. (1991). Translation Studies, London and New York: Routledge Bond, M. H., V. Žegarac and H. Spencer-Oatey. (2000). “Culture as an Explanatory

Variable: Problems and Possibilities” in H. Spencer-Oatey 2000 Culturally Speaking. Managing Rapport through Talk across Cultures, London and New York: Continuum, pp. 47-74

Bonvillain, N. (2003). Language, Culture and Communication. The Meaning of Messages, 4th ed., Upper Saddle River, Pearson Education: Prentice Hall

Croitoru E. (2009). “Creating Absence in Translation” in L. Frenţiu, (ed.) 2009 Romanian Journal of English Studies, Timişoara: Editura Universităţii de Vest, pp. 115-127

Duranti, A. (2001). Key Terms in Language and Culture, Oxford: Balckwell Publishers Eco, U. (2003). Mouse or Rat? Translation as Negotiation, UK: Phoenix Gumperz, J. J. (ed.) (1982). Language and social identity, Cambridge: CUP Gumperz, J. J. (1992). “Contextualization and Understanding” in A. Duranti and C.

Godwin (eds.) Rethinking Context: Language as an Interactive Phenomenon, Cambridge: CUP, pp. 229-252

Gutt, E. A. (1991). Translation and Relevance Cognition and Context, Oxford: Blackwell Gutt, E. A. (1998). “Pragmatic Aspects of Translation: Some Relevance –Theory

Observations” in L. Hickey (ed.) 1998 The Pragmatics of Translation, Clevendon: Multilingual Matters Ltd

Halliday, M. A. K. (1976). Cohesion in English, London: Longman Hatim, B. and I. Mason. (1992). Discourse and the Translator, London and New

York: Longman Hatim, B. and I. Mason. (1997). The Translator as Communicator, London and New

York: Routledge Hatim , B. and J. Munday. (2006). Translation. An Advanced Resource Book, London

and New York: Routledge

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Hickey, L. (ed.) (1998). The Pragmatics of Translation, Clevendon: Multilingual Matters Ltd

Hymes, D. (1972). “Models of the interaction of language and social life” in J. Gumperz and D. Hymes, (eds.) Directions in Sociolinguistics, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, pp. 35 -71

Katan, D. (2004). Translating Cultures. An Introduction for Translators, Interpreters and Mediators, Manchester, UK and Northampton MA: St. Jerome Publishing

Kovačević, M. (2007). “Language and Culture: Reflections, Experience” in The European English Messenger, vol 16. 2, autumn 2007, pp. 37-41

Kramsch, C. (1998). Language and Culture Oxford: OUP Labov, W. (1984). “Field methods of the project on linguistic change and

variation” in J. Baugh and J. Sherzer (eds.) Language in Use, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice hall, pp. 28-53

Morgan, M. M. (2001). “Community” in A. Duranti 2001 Key Terms in Language and Culture, Oxford: Balckwell Publishers, pp. 31-33

Munday, J. (2001). Introducing Translation Studies. Theories and Applications, London and New York: Routledge

Nida, E. (1964). Towards a Science of Translating, Leiden: E.J. Brill Popovič, A. (1970). “The concept ‘shift of expression’ in Translation Analysis” in J.

Holmes (ed.) The Nature of Translation. Essays on the Theory and Practice of Literary Translation, Mouton (The Hague) Paris: Publishing House of the Slovak Academy of Sciences Bratislava

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Gabriela CUSEN Translation: A Vocabulary Learning Strategy

“Transilvania” University of Braşov, , ROMANIA

1. Introduction: Language learning and vocabulary learning strategies As language learning strategies represent an area that has been written about extensively, I offer a brief overview of ways of defining and characterising these strategies. 1.1 Definitions and characteristics of language learning and vocabulary learning strategies

It is fruitful to start with definitions of language learning strategies by looking at the wider meaning of the term ‘strategy’. One of the most informative ways of tracing the origins of this term can be found in Oxford’s 1990 book, Language Learning Strategies: What Every Teacher Should Know. The author identifies ‘strategy’ as both a military term (with ancient Greek origins) and one that influences the domain of education. Learning strategies, in general, are thoroughly defined with a focus on how they are beneficial for learners. The author states:

To understand learning strategies, let us go back to the basic term, strategy. This word comes from the ancient Greek term strategia meaning generalship or the art of war. More specifically, strategy involves the optimal management of troops, ships, or aircraft in a planned campaign. A different, but related, word is tactics which are the tools to achieve the success of strategies. […] The strategy concept, without its aggressive and competitive trappings, has become influential in education, where it has taken on a new meaning and has been transformed into learning strategies. One commonly used technical definition says that learning strategies are operations employed by the learner to aid the acquisition, storage, retrieval and use of information. This definition, while helpful, does not fully

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convey the excitement or richness of learning strategies. It is useful to expand this definition by saying that learning strategies are specific actions taken by the learner to make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective and more transferable to new situations (Oxford, 1990: 7-8, emphasis added). In the wider context of educational psychology and social cognitive

theory learning strategies are treated in relation with such psychological processes as self-regulation, self-determination and self-efficacy (Fetterman, 2001:12). Representatives of this field of research (Pintrich, 2000; Zimmerman. 2000) maintain that there is evidence that self-regulated learning consists of sub-processes such as: forethought, performance or volitional control and self-reflection. Forethought consists of cognitive and motivational orientations. Students can monitor and control their learning by using cognitive and motivational management strategies. They also have the capacity to manage external resources (e.g. social interaction and help seeking). Self-regulated learning requires an awareness of reflective processes, where a learner assesses her/his own acts and achievements (Zimmerman 2000: 16). In this line of thought, I suggest that the study presented in this paper is an investigation of learners’ efforts towards self-regulation in that its findings show the respondents’ tendency towards preferential use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies to improve, monitor and control their learning of vocabulary in English.

Language learning is an area of education in which learning strategies are widely deemed to be influential in both the success and failure that learners are faced with at various stages. Agreement on a definition of language learning strategies among applied linguists together with consensus on their characteristics is one of the concerns mentioned by Ellis (1993: 91: ‘(…) there is also no agreement on exactly what these strategies are, how many of them there are, what they consist of, etc.’.

This lack of agreement can also be seen in the terminology that specialists have used to refer to what this thesis will call language learning strategies. Wenden (1991), for example, lists the following terms: “techniques”, “tactics”, “potentially conscious plans”, “consciously employed operations”, “learning skills, basic skills, functional skills”, “cognitive abilities”, “problem solving procedures”, and “language learning behaviours.” (p. 18)

One of the reasons for this disagreement is that the concept of strategy seems to be ‘a somewhat fuzzy one and it is difficult to tie down.’ (Ellis, 1994: 529) This ‘fuzziness’ could be explained by the fact that strategies may be actions specific to every individual learner or learning context. Certainly, many such definitions present in the literature appear to have

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been influenced by the methodological perspectives of the studies as a result of which they were formulated (Naiman et al, 1978; O’Malley and Chamot, 1990; Oxford, 1990; Rubin, 1975; Stern, 1975).

From among the many definitions of language learning strategies in more than thirty years of research, the ones detailed below appear to cover both common and different perspectives on how language learning strategies have been conceptualised.

At earlier stages of research, authors Rubin (1975), Bialystok (1978) and Van Lier (1988) appear to define language learning strategies in rather general terms which focus mainly on the idea that they are actions which help learners learn and solve language problems that they might be faced with. Rubin, for example, refers to ‘the techniques or devices which a learner may use to acquire knowledge.’ (1975:43) Bialystok defines language learning strategies as ‘optimal means for exploiting available information in a second language.’ (1978: 71) For Van Lier, the use of learning strategies to solve learning problems is part of the definition he gives. He views strategies as ‘ways of dealing with problems, thus, the more problems, the more we need to use strategies.’ (1988: 30)

Later, the definition of language learning strategies was ‘enriched’ by writers Chaudron (1988), O’Malley and Chamot (1990) and Wenden (1987), whose contribution is to foreground the idea of these strategies leading to language comprehension, learning and retention. Furthermore, what seems to be highly relevant in their refining of the definition, is that learners’ cognitive involvement in the choice and use of such strategies is also taken into account. Chaudron (1988: 109-110), for example, referring to research on ‘the cognitive operations that learners apply while in classrooms or other learning situations’, observes: These behaviours, termed “learning strategies” (…), amount to the operations performed on the TL input as it is being comprehended and after negotiation of meaning.

For O’Malley and Chamot (1990: 1), language learning strategies are: ‘the special thoughts or behaviours that individuals use to help them comprehend, learn, or retain new information’.

Wenden (1987) treats ‘learner strategies’ from three points of view. First, learner strategies are regarded as ‘language learning behaviours’ in which learners engage in order to learn and regulate their learning of a second language. Secondly, she uses the term to refer to what learners know about the strategies they use: this she calls ‘strategic knowledge’. Finally, the term refers to ‘metacognitive knowledge’:

what learners know about aspects of their language learning other than the strategies they use, e.g. what personal factors facilitate L2 learning; general principles to follow to learn a second language successfully; what is easy or difficult about

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learning a specific language; how well or poorly they can use the language. (1987: 6) The definition of language learning strategies has thus developed

from being primarily related to the solution of language problems, to acquisition of new knowledge and metacognitive knowledge intended to manage the language learning process.

The definition that informed the investigation of strategies in the study under consideration in this thesis was however that of Oxford (1990). This stresses learners’ self-involvement in their own learning and appears consistent with the aspect of learner independence that I detected in the analysis of my data (see Chapters Four, Five and Six). The other helpful dimension of this definition in relation to my study is that it is general enough, in its specificity, to be applied to the vocabulary learning strategies that constitute the focus of this thesis. In Oxford’s words, language learning strategies are:

steps taken by students to enhance their own learning. Strategies are especially important for language learning because they are tools for active, self-directed involvement, which is essential for developing communicative competence. Appropriate language learning strategies result in improved proficiency and greater self confidence. (Oxford, 1990: 1) This definition appears to be well suited for vocabulary learning

strategies in that these strategies lead to learners’ enhancement of vocabulary knowledge. Learners’ self-involvement in the adoption and use of appropriate strategies for the learning of vocabulary may then lead to a greater degree of learner independence.

Definitions of vocabulary learning strategies appear to have been derived and refined from definitions of language learning strategies. They tend to be specific in that they refer – to paraphrase Oxford (1990:1) – to very small and precise “steps” taken by learners in order to learn, store and retrieve lexical items. Cohen and Aphek (1980: 222) refer to these strategies in terms of their being ‘associative techniques’ and exemplify them with ‘using mental images’.

Schmitt (1997) considers that vocabulary learning strategies have been dealt with only ‘indirectly’ in the ‘process of identifying and categorising language strategies’ (1997: 200). In order to define these strategies, Schmitt (1997: 203) draws on Rubin’s (1987: 29) definition which regards learning as ‘the process by which information is obtained, stored, retrieved and used’. Applying ‘use’ to vocabulary practice, he states that ‘vocabulary learning strategies could be any which affect this rather broadly-defined process.’ (Schmitt, 1997: 203) Schmitt also develops a very comprehensive taxonomy of vocabulary learning strategies.

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Considerations of the main characteristics of language learning strategies in general can be found in the work of Cohen (1998, 2003), Ellis (1994), O’Malley and Chamot (1990), O’Malley, Chamot and Walker (1987), Oxford (1990b, 1993c, 1993d, 2003), Rabinowitz and Chi (1987), and Wenden and Rubin (1987). These characteristics can be grouped in terms of (a) what language learning strategies are, (b) what they do, and (c) how they are used.

1.3 What language learning strategies are The list below shows how, in the literature, language learning strategies are characterised by what they are:

(1) some of the strategies are observable and others cannot be observed (Cohen, 1998; Wenden and Rubin, 1987). In other words, in some situations learners behave in specific ways that can be observed (e.g. when they point to an object whose name they do not know) and which may lead to acquisition of new linguistic knowledge. Other strategies, for example, ‘associating new information with existing knowledge’, are almost impossible to observe and the researcher depends on the learners’ report on what they do in order to learn. Ellis (1994) uses the terms behavioural and mental to characterise these strategies; (2) strategies are amenable to change if the learner finds them ineffective and new ones can be learned and adapted to new situations (O’Malley and Chamot, 1990); (3) strategies are problem-oriented, i.e. learners use them to solve language learning problems (Ellis, 1994; O’Malley, Chamot and Walker, 1987); (4) ‘[a] strategy cannot, a priori, be categorised either good or bad’ (Oxford, 2003: 274, emphasis added). Avoiding this crude dichotomy, Oxford observes that a useful strategy is one which meets the following conditions:

(a) the strategy relates well to the L2 task at hand; (a) the student employs the strategy effectively and links it with

other strategies for doing the task; (b) the strategy coordinates with the student’s general learning

style preferences to one degree or another. (2003: 274) Oxford does not give empirical evidence for the above, though.

The view that learning strategies cannot be considered inherently good or bad for learning is also held by Politzer and McGroarty (1985). Their study, based on data collected by means of a questionnaire asking about ‘good behaviours’ in language learning, concluded that (a) various individual learner characteristics (e.g.

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level of proficiency) and (b) the way strategies are actually used by each learner, can make use of certain strategies either efficient or inefficient depending on who uses them and how:

Depending on the level of proficiency or the frequency with which a particular behaviour is employed, the same learning strategy may be variously an intrinsically good learning behaviour, a sign of lack of progress, an indication of assiduity, and so on. (Politzer and McGroarty, 1985: 96)

(5) language learning strategies may be teachable or modifiable through strategy training which some researchers see as ‘an essential part of language education.’ (Oxford, 1990: 12) In this process, the role of a teacher changes from that of a controller and evaluator to that of a consultant and advisor; they may study and identify the types of strategies used by their learners and establish what strategies they need to be taught to use. This is consistent with work done in Good Language Learner (GLL) studies (e.g. Naiman et al, 1978; Rubin, 1975; Stern, 1975), i.e. findings that good language learners use strategies well, and the idea that findings from GLL studies could be used in learner training for the development of language learning strategies; (6) language learning strategies are influenced by a variety of factors related to the learners themselves and to the learning environment (Oxford, 1990: 13). In my own study, the identification of some of the factors influencing respondents’ learning of vocabulary from the biographical data collected in the interviews lead to the creation of learner profiles, which are not under examination in this paper.

1.4 What language and vocabulary learning strategies do In the literature, language and vocabulary learning strategies are also characterised in terms of what they do: (1) strategies that are appropriately used by learners lead toward ‘the

broad goal of communicative competence’ (Oxford, 1990:8) (2) in the main, strategies are seen as contributing indirectly to learning by

providing learners with data about the L2 which they can then process (e.g. Oxford’s (1990: 21) strategy of ‘finding out about language learning’). However, some strategies may also contribute directly (for example, memorisation strategies directed at specific lexical items or grammar rules) (Ellis, 1994; Oxford, 1990, 1993c, 2003)

(3) the use of strategies in language-learning stimulate learners to self-direct their learning and thus manage on their own outside the classroom (Oxford, 1990:10).

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1.5 How language and vocabulary learning strategies are used Cognitive strategies may be used consciously by the learner, but they can also become automatised. To provide arguments for this, O’Malley et al (1987) and O’Malley and Chamot (1990) have made attempts to ground the investigation of language-learning strategies within the information-processing model of learning developed by Anderson (1980, 1983). Applied to language-learning strategies, this model shows that that strategies only occur in the early cognitive stage when they are conscious; after that they cease to be conscious, i.e. ‘strategic’, but rather are used automatically. O’Malley and Chamot observe that conscious strategies exist only at the declarative stage of language-learning and once they become proceduralised they are automatic. This seems to demonstrate that strategies can only be studied at the declarative stage of learning because the learners are able to verbalise them. (for an extension of the Anderson (1983) model to account for language-learning/acquisition, see Johnson, 1996).

Having looked at the main characteristics of strategies as identified in the literature, I now look at classifications of language-learning and vocabulary-learning strategies on the basis of the major studies in the field. 1.6 More recent views of learning strategies After having attempted to define language learning strategies and before looking at how they are categorised in the literature on language-learning, it seems necessary to somewhat broaden the picture and see how this issue is regarded in the fields in which the discussion of this concept originates, i.e. education theory in general. Recent research and writings in education, educational psychology and social cognition provide a larger framework for the discussion of learning strategies in general and of the implications of their use by the learners for learner autonomy as an important factor in academic success (Holmberg, 1995; Keegan, 1996; Peters, 1998). Self-regulation appears to be one of the key concepts in this respect in that its study can offer insights into the functioning of autonomous learners. It refers to students’ ability to understand and control their learning. Students of all ages need to control their learning through productive motivational beliefs and use of cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies. Motivational variables often are referred to (see Brandura, 1997) as the will component of learning; strategies are referred to as the skill component. The will and the skill contribute to academic learning and success in several ways. One of these ways is through a reciprocal interchange between will (i.e. self-efficacy) and skill (i.e. strategy instruction) components. This seems to be so because it is considered that as self-efficacy increases, students are more apt to use strategies. As strategy instruction increases,

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students become more self-efficacious. 2. A study of vocabulary learning strategies The investigative approach in the study of vocabulary learning strategies discussed here is both qualitative and quantitative. The data themselves, language learning diaries and interview transcripts, are qualitative. In the analysis of the transcripts a quantitative perspective is adopted in terms of the required counting and calculation of percentages related to the number and type of strategies reported by the subjects (guided by RQ 1a, below). This is mostly because, as Oxford (1996: 20) put it, the latter approach ‘enables the researcher to do quantitative calculations of strategies cited by each learner’. However, as they also note, it ‘does not usually say much about the emotional or social situation’. To counterbalance the quantitative ways of examining the data, these are interpreted from a qualitative perspective to investigate both the nature of these strategies used by the respondents in order to learn vocabulary and what they can tell the researcher about the ways in which the participants approach the process of vocabulary-learning. 2.1 Research questions The research questions (RQs) identified in this section concern, first, types of vocabulary-learning strategies; second, the relationship between the learners’ prior language-learning experience and vocabulary-learning strategy use; and third, the relationship between the language-learning environment (the classroom or outside it) and learners’ use of vocabulary learning strategies.

The three overarching RQs for this research study (with their subordinate RQs) are: RQ 1 What do experienced learners of English who are studying to become English teachers, Romanian English major and minor undergraduates, do to learn (or improve their knowledge of) vocabulary?

a. What types of strategies do these experienced learners use when learning vocabulary? i. How are the language learning background profiles similar and/or

different for individual learners? ii. How are the vocabulary learning strategy use profiles similar

and/or different for individual learners? iii. How are the language learning background profiles related to the

vocabulary learning strategy use profiles? In the process of collecting, analysing and interpreting the data, these

questions underwent several changes prompted by what actually seemed ‘to happen’ at various points of the research. In the case of the overarching

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questions themselves, neither the wording nor their focus changed, other than stylistically. However, in the process of deciding upon their operationalisation, subordinate questions were formulated which prevented the former from being too vague or broad and which suggested other angles from which the data could be examined. The subordinate questions thus changed (or evolved). This seems to be consistent with what Strauss and Corbin (1998: 41) write:

Although the initial question starts out broadly, it becomes progressively narrowed and more focused during the research process as concepts and their relationships are discovered. So, the research question begins as an open and broad one; but not so open, of course, as to allow for the entire universe of possibilities. On the other hand, it is not so narrow and focused that it excludes discovery.

2.2 Subjects of the study and research instruments In my study I have investigated the learning strategies of English major and minor university undergraduates learning vocabulary in this language and the findings suggest that these respondents appear to be self-efficacious learners because they report vocabulary learning strategies which show them to be experimented advanced highly motivated learners with a professional interest in learning, i.e. they aim to become teachers. The findings of this study may have implications for language learning (in general) and vocabulary learning (in particular) strategy instruction in a specific context in Romania: that of university education of future teachers of English.

At the time of data collection, the subjects of this study were all undergraduates either majoring or minoring in English with the aim of becoming teachers of English and they were all my students. I had known my English major and minor respondents for at least one academic year and I taught them once a week for two hours.

The decision to use diaries and interviews for the collection of the data was informed both by the three research questions discussed above and by my reading. In particular, the theoretical writings and research reports of Bailey (1991) and McDonough and McDonough (1997) informed the decision to initiate the data collection in this research by designing and implementing the diary study. RQ 1: ‘What do experienced learners of English who are studying to become English teachers, Romanian English major and minor undergraduates do to learn (or improve their knowledge of) vocabulary?’ guided the initiation of the diary study. I hoped that the diary data would help me ‘see’ what my respondents do to learn new words and also whether there was any difference in this respect between English major and minor

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learners (RQ 2a). RQs 2 and 3, aiming at an understanding of the relationships between

my respondents’ reported use of vocabulary learning strategies and their language learning background (RQ2), and (RQ3) the language learning environment (the classroom or outside it) informed the design, piloting and implementation of the interviews. I chose interviews to answer these questions because in this way I could obtain the information I needed (and which was either not present or not enough in the diary data) in face-to-face interaction with my informants. 3. Analytical frameworks and data analysis Although the common practice in qualitative research reports is to tackle the issue of data analysis after having dealt with the process of data collection and before the interpretation of findings, or to do what Mason (2002: 147) calls ‘[d]oing something with the products’ of the latter, such analysis is actually and usually a ‘pervasive activity throughout the life of a research project’. In other words, there seems to be no clear-cut boundaries which delimit data collection, analysis and interpretation. These three stages of any research process rather tend to intermingle. Often, for example, data analysis and interpretation is followed by the collection of other data. This was the case in my study.

The analytical frameworks used with the language data in this study, i.e. language leaning diaries and interviews with diarists - the supporting data to shed light on the reported vocabulary leaning strategies of the Romanian undergraduates, are related to two large areas of social science: SLA and sociology. The two frameworks that guide the analysis of the data under investigation here are Rebecca Oxford’s 1990 classification of language learning strategies and Glaser and Strauss’s (1967) grounded theory method.

This double perspective on the analysis of the data appeared to be necessary from the initiation of the process. Thus, at the stage of coding the data and assigning data units to the various categories, I was confronted with situations in which the analytical framework I had chosen for the analysis of my data (Oxford, 1990) did not appear ‘to fit well’ the data. Glaser and Strauss (1967: 239) warn that: When a theory does not fit well, the consequences are a typical forcing and distorting of data to fit the categories of the deduced applications, and the neglecting of relevant data that seemingly do not fit or cannot be forced into the pre-existing (…) categories.

Therefore, a second decision was made that, for a proper understanding, the data be examined by means of the Glaser and Strauss (1967) grounded theory method as well as by application of Oxford’s (1990)

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analytical framework. 3.1 Translation: a cognitive learning strategy Cognitive strategies are the second important sub-category of direct strategies, defined by Oxford as strategies which: ‘involve manipulation or transformation of target language by the learner’ (1990: 43). They are divided into four groups: • A: Practising • B: Receiving and sending messages • C: Analysing and reasoning • D: Creating structure for input and output.

Of all the strategies included by Oxford in the cognitive strategies group, the subjects participating in my study reported the following: • A: 1 Repeating, 2 Formally practising with sounds and writing systems, 3

Recognising and using formulas and patterns, 4 Recombining, 5 Practising naturalistically;

• B: 2 Using resources for receiving and sending messages; • C: 1 Reasoning deductively, 2 Analysing expressions, 3 Analysing

contrastively (across languages), 4 Translating, 5 Transferring. • D 1 Taking notes.

Translation and transfer (Oxford’s (1990) terms) as cognitive strategies appear to have certain common points, this is why they are discussed and exemplified below. In the study discussed here, the subjects report 12 out of Oxford’s (1990) 15 cognitive strategies present in all four sub-categories of this major category. Such cognitive strategies thus appear indicative of these learners’ interest in: a) ‘practising’ the newly acquired vocabulary, b) learning new items by finding opportunities for ‘receiving and sending messages’, c) ‘analysing and reasoning’ when learning, and d) finding ways of ‘creating structure for input and output.’ (Oxford, 1990: 19) The strategies belonging to these four sub-categories seem to be of at least two types: ‘practice’ and ‘deep processing.’ (Oxford and Ehrman, 1995: 372) The first type speaks for itself; the second ‘involves personalising the information and conducting analysis, synthesis, and continuous adjustment of schemata.’ (1995: 372)

The way the learners, in this study, report translating and transferring is exemplified below after Oxford’s definitions: Translating is defined by Oxford as:

converting a target language expression into the native language (…); or converting the native language into the target language (at various levels, from words and phrases all the way up to whole texts) (1990: 46 – emphasis in the original).

One of my respondents, Ina, says in her interview:

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I: lexical units. OK. er Does translation play an important role in your vocabulary learning? In: er Yes because I er notice that er I I know words in English but when it comes to translating them into Romanian they er there are problems. er I I don’t seem to to find a proper equivalent in another tongue and so I started er when er finding such er pun er not necessarily pun but just expression I try to put them in my language and er er try by this to remember them and to explain them better and by this I I can say that er I can see if I got them right (Ina, INT: 353-360).

The strategy Ina reports in this interview extract appears to be the conversion of foreign language expressions into the L1 that Oxford defines and which for this respondent appears to lead to retention of new English words and expressions.

Transferring is defined by Oxford as: ‘directly applying knowledge of words, concepts, or structures from one language to another in order to understand or to produce an expression in the new language’ (1990: 47 – emphasis in the original).

Another subject of my study, Nina, reports this in her diary: I find it quite difficult sometimes when I have to understand the meaning of a certain passage because the Bible itself is not a very easy book. That’s why I compare the English version with a Romanian one (Nina, D: 481-484).

This learner reports here a strategy which helps her to apply knowledge of concepts from her L1 to understand the text in the L2.

The two strategies discussed here appear to be quite similar. There is however a (very fine) difference between them. While in the definition of translating Oxford mainly refers to the conversion of various language structures from one language to another, she sees transferring as the application of general language knowledge from one language in order to understand or produce the other one. This difference is exemplified by Ina and Nina above. 4. Conclusions To conclude on the findings of my study, the subjects appear to report the use of deep processing and practice cognitive strategies in equal numbers which might prove that they have found practice and language analysis techniques to be equally important for the improvement of their vocabulary knowledge.

In relation to their specialism as university undergraduates, English majors report a larger number of vocabulary learning behaviours for all the categories identified in the data. This suggests that university major (and therefore career orientation) is directly related to learners’ use of learning

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strategies These characterise the English major undergraduates in this study as learners able to deal with lexis in ways appropriate to experienced advanced independent learners. They both actively enhance their knowledge of vocabulary by constantly seeking opportunities to do so and consolidate this knowledge by various types of practice.

Although the English minor respondents involved in this study can also be characterised as experienced advanced independent learners of vocabulary, unlike their major counterparts, they seem more inclined towards taking smaller steps to enhance their knowledge of vocabulary. They also rely less on language analysis and more on practice to consolidate this knowledge, and tend to be more emotionally oriented, less socially- oriented and thus more prone to use ‘negative activities’.

The findings about the relationship between the learners’ major or minor university specialism and the strategies they report, may have implications for both the future learning and teaching of vocabulary at tertiary level. Here, I look at how teachers and classrooms may have contributed to my findings about strategy use. In other words, it might be that these findings will help both students and teachers in their approach to this area of language.

Moreover, in terms of how the variable ‘classroom learning’ is related to vocabulary learning strategy report in this study, it seems necessary, at this point, to discuss a possible answer to RQ3: ‘Is the language learning environment (the classroom or outside it) related to learners’ use of vocabulary learning strategies?’. I have shown that if left on their own (outside the classroom), learners with a professional interest in the learning of English will develop strategies that were not encouraged in the classroom and that appear to be helpful for their learning. The comparison of classroom-based and acquired strategies has revealed the learners’ tendency towards the use of indirect acquired strategies which once more underscores the aspect of learner independence.

It appears, therefore, that language teaching methods have influenced the use of strategies by these learners. This seems to be consistent with findings in the literature. Oxford (1989: 243) states that ‘[l]anguage teaching methods, as well as unspoken expectations permeating the instructional environment, often influence language learning strategy use’. Similarly, Oxford and Nyikos (1989: 293) found that ‘students’ language learning strategies mirrored analytical, rule-based instructional methods used in the university’.

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October 9th–11th, 2008 – “Dunărea de Jos” University, Galaţi, ROMANIA pp. 77-91 Daniel DEJICA Information Universe and Text Perspectives in Translation: the Hol-atomistic Phase

Polytechnic University of Timişoara, ROMANIA Introduction Recent studies claim that the more translators know about the structures and the dynamics of discourse, the more readily and accurately they can translate both the content and the spirit of a text (Nida, 1997: 42). Similarly, international research projects aim at helping translators make reasonable and consistent decisions as to the relevance and reliability of source text features in the target text (Gerzymisch-Arbogast, 2005: 7). Also, other recent studies focus on the importance of Theme-Rheme analysis to translation (Gerzymisch-Arbogast, 2005; Gerzymisch-Arbogast/Kunold/Rothfuß-Bastian, 2006).

In the past decades there has been a great deal of interest in the way information is structured in discourse. The terminology used in research to describe information structuring includes Functional Sentence Perspective (Firbas 1964, 1992), information structure (Halliday 1967, 1994), information packaging (Chafe, 1976), or informatics (Vallduvi 1992). Under these headings, linguists speak of two information-structural parts of the sentence or the clause known as “Theme” and “Rheme” or “topic” and “comment”. Another set of terms includes, on the one hand, “given,” “old” or “known” information, and, on the other hand, “new” or “unknown” information.

Such notions and other emerging ones, i.e. macro- and hyper-Themes (Daněs, 1974), staging (Grimes, 1975), grounding (Hopper, 1979), etc., have been applied to higher levels of text than sentence or clause level, such as paragraph or whole text levels. In general, all these approaches imply that certain parts of text are more important, more salient or more foregrounded

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than others, and illustrate how connections between these parts account for text structure which, in its turn, accounts for text coherence.

Without denying the individual merits of such models, we claim that their usage is limited to the analysis of only certain text levels and that from this single perspective they cannot offer the translator the integrated view needed to show how thematic information is identified, structured, and maintained in texts. Another drawback of such models is that they only use syntactic or semantic parameters for the identification of thematic information, parameters which cannot always rightly justify the selection of a particular Theme or account for the connections between Themes and Rhemes (Dejica, 2006).

In line with this deficit analysis and with the research desiderata mentioned above, my PhD project aims at setting up an integrated approach for the understanding, identification and analysis of information universe in source texts which can be used as a basis for translation. The approach uses an adapted model (Gerzymisch-Arbogast and Mudersbach, 1998; Mudersbach, 2008) based on a pragmatic identification of information units in terms of Themes and Rhemes (in our approach, the two components of the information universe in discourse) and analyses the information universe components from different, yet inter-related perspectives: atomistic, hol-atomistic and holistic (Gerzymisch-Arbogast, 2006). The research touches and explores in depth essential elements used in the reception phase of the translation process (Gerzymisch-Arbogast, 2005): identification and analysis of semantically and culturally important information in source texts, coherence, cohesion, and structure.

The present paper focuses on the hol-atomistic phase of the process of analysis of information universe in discourse. I shall refer to the pragmatic model used for the identification of Themes and Rhemes, and then I shall describe different perspectives of information analysis with special focus on the hol-atomistic phase. 1. Translation and the identification and analysis of information in discourse 1.1. In my approach, I use an adapted pragmatic Theme-Rheme model to identify the Themes and Rhemes of a text, and a theory of text perspectives to analyze them with the aim of providing a sound analysis and understanding of texts to be translated. It has to be stated here that this integrated approach to Theme-Rheme identification and analysis (IATRIA) is to be seen within the framework of translation theory for which it has been developed.

Since it is not the purpose of my paper to provide a definition of translation, I adopt one of the most recent definitions of a particular type of

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translation, i.e. multidimensional translation (Gerzymisch-Arbogast, 2005: 5), which is based on a general concept of translation and which is defined as a form of translation which transfers – with a specific purpose – a speaker or hearer’s concern expressed in a sign system 1, formulated in a medium 1, via the same medium or a medium 2 or a combination of media into another sign or semiotic system 2. As Gerzymisch-Arbogast explains (2005: 5), key components in this definition are that the concern needs to be expressed (as the basis of any translatory action), that the transfer is made with a specific purpose in mind and potentially involves a change of sign or semiotic system and/or mode or media. With this understanding of multidimensional translation it is possible to accommodate and describe a transfer from the spoken to the written (e.g. subtitling), from the written to the spoken (e.g. sight translation) from the visual to the spoken (e.g. audiodescription) and many other hybrid forms of translation and interpretation under the umbrella of multidimensional translation. As my intention is to develop the IATRIA model mainly for written texts, I generalize this definition of translation: in very broad terms, I see translation as an activity which transfers – with a specific purpose in mind – the writer’s intention expressed in a sign system 1 into another sign system 2. I see the sign system 1 as the written representation of the text, i.e., the source text, while the sign system 2 as the written representation of the target text. All the constituents expressed in the sign system 1 and taken individually or relationally form the information universe of the text (IU). The IU constituents are carriers of information which structurally and cognitively can be divided into a two-part information system which in my approach is formed of Themes and Rhemes. 1.2. In time, several syntactic, semantic and pragmatic models for the identification and analysis of Themes and Rhemes have been developed; still, many questions remain unanswered when it comes to their application to larger portions of text, to coherence theories or to translation (Dejica, 2006)

In a recent study, Mudersbach (2008) presents a pragmatic Theme-Rheme identification model for oral communicative situations. As he puts it, the model does not proceed from language specific phenomena which could be potentially related to Theme-Rheme structuring or against which Theme-Rheme phenomena could be tested, such as word-order, active-passive transformations, etc. Instead, it proceeds from the question about how speakers structure what they want to say in order to make their utterance interesting for the hearer and with the aim of enabling the hearer to extract from the message what is most attractive to him/her. This pragmatic Theme-Rheme structuring theory is thus a structuring of information by the speaker before s/he verbalizes the utterance. For the

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hearer, the structuring takes place during or after the utterance has been interpreted. The Theme-Rheme structuring in oral communication is temporary in nature, e.g. it can change according to the conversation flow, and is part of a wider information system which includes the Themes and the Rhemes of the text and other background information of the hearer and of the speaker and which is called ‘constellation’ of information. Mudersbach distinguishes two constellations of information: the hearer’s and the speaker’s. For the purposes of my research, in my approach I adapt the model to be used for the identification of information in written texts; since the structuring of information in this case is permanent, e.g., cannot be changed as it happens in real time, I will have only one constellation of information, the translator’s. To avoid any misuses or overlapping of the term, I will use the phrase information universe to refer to all the text constituents in terms of Themes and Rhemes as proposed above; I view the extended information universe (EIU) as the complete image of all the constituents expressed in a sign system 1 and formulated in a medium 1, and of their relations of these ones with other constituents from different information universes.

My adapted pragmatic Theme-Rheme (PTR) model for written communicative situations preserves some of the concepts introduced by Mudersbach (2008) in his pragmatic Theme-Rheme model for oral communicative situations (I assume that they can also be applied to written communicative situations) and introduces some new concepts which are described below. It is to be restated here that the model must be seen within the framework of translation, in the process of source text analysis from the reception phase, and from a translator’s perspective:

‐ text Theme (TT) – what the text is about, usually expressed in the title

‐ INF T S/R – general information that the sender presumes the receiver has about the subject; this information is part of the background knowledge the translator should have about the subject;

‐ INF T R/S – general information that the translator assumes the receiver has about the sender’s subject before receiving the message;

‐ JSI – the joint stock of information that the sender, the receiver and the translator have about the subject in general;

‐ IU – information universe, consisting of all the constituents expressed in the sign system 1. The IU constituents are carriers of information which structurally and cognitively can be divided into a two-part information system which in our approach is formed of all the Themes and Rhemes of the text.

‐ SSA – the scope of shared attention; contains the information units in the form of Themes and Rhemes in one excerpt of the text; the IU of a text can overlap with the SSA if the Theme remains unchanged throughout the text, or can have several SSA if the Theme changes in different excerpts of the text; one of the decisions that the translator should make is whether to keep unchanged or change the scope of shared attention in the target text according to the requirements of the client, reader’s preferences, discourse styles, etc;

‐ SSA JSI – the scope of shared attention from the joint stock of information is a particular information unit, i.e., Theme or Rheme, which is processed by the translator at the moment s/he is translating the text; the SSA JSI changes progressively while the translator is translating the text;

‐ Theme – a constituent of the IU, a piece of given information, positioned within the scope of shared attention and at the same time in the overlap of the joint stock of information;

‐ Rheme – a constituent of the IU, new information which lies in the scope of shared attention but not in the INF T S/R. It is located in the shared scope of attention but is unknown to the receiver – in the opinion of the sender. It is also new or unknown to the translator;

‐ Connector – a noun or pronoun which resumes the Theme; ‐ Information level – global (IU), episodic (SSA), or local (SSA

JSI). The following representation illustrates the extended information

universe as perceived by the translator in a pragmatic Theme-Rheme structuring model for written communicative situations.

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INF T S/R

THEME(S) JSI SSA JSI RHEME(S) IU/SSA INF T R/S

Fig. 1: Extended Information Universe from the translator’s perspective

To exemplify the concepts of the PTR model for written communicative situations I have selected a text from the section Objectives of a project proposal. Ptolemy Project Objectives

The project aims to develop techniques supporting heterogeneous modeling, including both formal "meta-models" and a software laboratory for experimenting with heterogeneous modeling. In this context, it will explore methods based on dataflow and process networks, discrete-event systems, synchronous/reactive languages, finite-state machines, and communicating sequential processes. It will make contributions ranging from fundamental semantics to synthesis of embedded software and custom hardware.

(Ptolemy Project) The Theme-Rheme identification in the text and the exemplification of the PTR model are as follows:

1. TT (expressed in the title): Ptolemy project objectives 2. INF S/R – information that the sender presumes the receiver has

about the project in general. Due to the fact that this project proposal was submitted as a response to a call for proposals in the educational field, the sender already knows that the receiver, the one who launched the call for proposals, already has some knowledge and expectations about the project: that it will attempt to bring something new, to solve specific problems in the educational field, to follow a given deadline, to come up with a team of specialists who will implement it, etc.

3. INF R/S – general information that the receiver has about the sender’s project before receiving it: the knowledge and expectations presented above. We assume that in both INF T S/R and INF T R/S the translator has background knowledge about project proposals.

4. JSI – joint stock of information that the sender, the receiver, and the translator have about the project objectives in general (i.e. the overlap of the INF T S/R and INF T R/S)

5. IU – information universe, contains all the Themes (given information) and the Rhemes (new information for the receiver) of the text (see points 7 and 8)

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6. SSA – scope of shared attention; in this case the SAA is identical with the IU since the theme, and implicitly the SSA, remains unchanged throughout the text;

7. Theme – given information, already mentioned in the TT: ‘the project’

8. Rhemes – new information (i.e. the objectives proper): ‘development of techniques supporting heterogeneous modeling, including both formal "meta-models" and a software laboratory for experimenting with heterogeneous modeling; exploration of methods based on dataflow and process networks, discrete-event systems, synchronous/reactive languages, finite-state machines, and communicating sequential processes; making contributions ranging from fundamental semantics to synthesis of embedded software and custom hardware.’

9. SSA JSI – the scope of shared attention from the joint stock of information (i.e. a particular piece of information which is already known to the sender but is new or is just being processed by the receiver at the moment s/he is reading the text; the SSA JSI changes progressively while the receiver is reading the text), in my example, one of the project objectives: the ‘development of techniques supporting heterogeneous modeling, including both formal "meta-models" and a software laboratory for experimenting with heterogeneous modeling’, the ‘exploration of methods based on dataflow and process networks, discrete-event systems, synchronous/reactive languages, finite-state machines, and communicating sequential processes’ etc.

10. Connector (C) – the pronominal pronouns ‘it’ which resume the Theme in the 2nd and 3rd sentences.

1.3. In my approach, the second phase of the IATRIA consists of the analysis of Themes and Rhemes using the theory suggested by Gerzymisch-Arbogast (2006) who looks at texts from three different perspectives: atomistic, hol-atomistic, holistic. In Gerzymisch-Arbogast’s approach, the Themes and the Rhemes are analyzed semantically in terms of information strings, at the hol-atomistic level. I intend to extend the analysis of Themes and Rhemes to all three perspectives as follows:

- atomistic: the analysis of individual information universe components (individual, atom-like aspects of the IU components: neologisms, compound words, etc.);

- hol-atomistic: the analysis of different relations, i.e., lexical, structural, cognitive, etc. between the information universe components at text level;

- holistic: the analysis of relations between information universe components with other components above text level, i.e. cultural.

I hypothesize that the analysis I suggest can offer a complete and systematic understanding of the extended information universe needed for translation. Visually, the EIU can be represented as follows:

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X Y

X Y

MIU

Fig. 2: Extended Information Universe (EIU) viewed from different perspectives

X Y Y

AIU 2

X Y Y

AIU 1

X Y Y

AIU N

Y

Where

- X and Y are individual Themes and Rhemes - MIU is the main information universe of the text to be translated,

with all its constituent Themes and Rhemes - AIU are auxiliary information universes containing extended

knowledge needed for text understanding - EIU is the complete image of all the constituents expressed in a sign

system 1 and formulated in a medium 1, and of their relations with other constituents of different auxiliary information universes

and the three perspectives are represented as follows: - the atomistic perspective is represented by the dotted circles around

the individual constituents of the MIU; - the hol-atomistic perspective is represented by lines between the

individual constituents of the MIU; - the holistic perspective is represented by dotted lines between the

individual constituents of the MIU and the constituents of other auxiliary information universes.

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2. The Hol-atomistic perspective to the information universe analysis 2.1. I hypothesize that a relational analysis from the hol-atomistic perspective of the IU constituents can facilitate the translator’s understanding of the text as a whole and help him/her take consistent decisions when it comes to preserving or changing particular structures, discourse style, lexical choice, etc., so as to suit the needs of the client or of the target audience. In my conception, the hol-atomistic perspective covers all possible relations between information universe constituents, i.e. Themes and Rhemes, at text level. Since this is work in progress, I shall limit the following exemplification of the hol-atomistic perspective only to syntactic, semantic, pragmatic and cognitive relations. For the same reason and due to space constraints, I shall summarize these relations and exemplify them on one text only. A complete exemplification and application of the IATRIA model will be made in the PhD thesis. 2.2. Analysis of syntactic relations. The relational analysis between sentence Themes and Rhemes reveals the source text author’s preferences for a particular sentence construction or word order of the IU constituents. In the Ptolemy Project example, the Theme is identical with the subject in all three sentences and is part of the most frequent syntactic pattern in the English language: S + V + O. The translator may preserve the syntactic source structure or change it depending on the syntactic particularities or preferences of the target language or on other specific constraints. In our case, a different syntactic structure at the sentence or at the entire text level would be possible in the target text by using passivization and by placing the Rhemes in initial sentence position; depending on the language used, this new structure may be considered normal or emphatic:

Techniques supporting heterogeneous modeling, including both formal "meta-models" and a software laboratory for experimenting with heterogeneous modeling are aimed to be developed by the project. In this context, methods based on dataflow and process networks, discrete-event systems, synchronous/reactive languages, finite-state machines, and communicating sequential processes will be explored. Contributions ranging from fundamental semantics to synthesis of embedded software and custom hardware will be made.

In this modified example, the Themes are no longer subjects, but objects placed at the end of each sentence. However, this does not mean that the Theme of the text has changed: the text is still about Ptolemy Project’s objectives, the objectives still represent new information to the receiver, the only difference being that the Rhemes are placed in initial position in the

sentence, thus creating a possible emphatic effect. Thus, we delimit ourselves of the functional approach where the Theme is seen always as the starting point of the utterance or the point of departure of the message, whatever follows being considered the Rheme (Halliday, 1994: 37). 2.3. Analysis of semantic relations. The relational analysis at text level between Themes or between Rhemes reveals the meaning and structural relations between all the information universe constituents of the text and shows the way subsequent discourse re-uses previous Themes or Rhemes according to an overall textual plan. Daněs (1974) was the first to use the term thematic progression to show how Themes and Rhemes are organized together in an ordered and hierarchic way:

By [thematic progression] we mean the choice and ordering of utterance Themes, their mutual concatenation and hierarchy, as well as their relationship to hyper-Themes of the superior text units…, to the whole text, and to the situation. (Daněs, 1974: 113)

Daněs developed the model of thematic progression and he observed different patterns of matching sentence arrangements: linear progression (the Rheme of a sentence becomes the Theme of the immediately succeeding sentence, as in the following extract), progression with constant Theme (the same Theme is repeated at the beginning of each sentence), and progression with derived Theme (subsequent Themes are derived from a superordinate item at the beginning of a text). As it can be seen in the following representation, our example is based on progression with a constant Theme: Theme Relator Rheme

The project aims to develop

techniques supporting heterogeneous modeling, including both formal "meta-models" and a software laboratory for experimenting with heterogeneous modeling.

Connector Relator Rheme

it will explore methods based on dataflow and process networks, discrete-event systems, synchronous/reactive languages, finite-state machines, and communicating sequential processes.

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Connector Relator Rheme

It will make contributions ranging from fundamental semantics to synthesis of embedded software and custom hardware.

Fig. 3: Exemplification of thematic progression

In translation, the importance of identifying these meaning and structural relations between IU constituents resides in that it helps the translator preserve or, if necessary, improve the coherence of the text, and similarly, it helps him/her preserve or change in the target text the intention of the sender by creating a particular structure, i.e., with emphatic or argumentative power, with the Themes always in initial position. 2.4. Analysis of lexical and grammatical relations. The relational analysis at text level between Themes or between Rhemes reveals the author’s preference for a particular wording. For instance, the lexical relation between the Themes in our example could be preserved in terms of perfect synonymy, e.g., preserving the word project all through the target text, or of partial synonymy, changing it in the target language with words equivalent to scheme, undertaking, task, etc. The lexical-relational analysis can also reveal the source language preference for a certain grammatical class in Theme position, which implicitly contributes to the identification of a particular discourse style (Dejica, 2008). For instance, in pragmatic texts, it is a common practice in English to resume a Theme expressed by an abstract noun using a personal pronoun, neutral form. However, Romanian does not display the same discourse preference: the same abstract nouns are always employed or they are replaced by a demonstrative pronoun:

English Romanian (1) Romanian (2) Them

e Grammatica

l class Theme Grammatical

class Theme Grammatica

l class

The project

Noun Proiectul Noun Proiectu

l Noun

It

Personal pronoun, neutral

Acesta Demonstrative pronoun

Proiectul Noun

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88

It

Personal pronoun, neutral

Acesta Demonstrative pronoun

Proiectul Noun

Table 1: Possible grammatical relations of Themes at text level in English

and Romanian As shown in Table 1, changing the grammatical class in Theme position leads to the creation of different stylistic effects. The first possible Romanian version, the closest to the source text in terms of grammatical class selection, is in itself more specific than the English version, i.e. demonstrative versus personal-neutral pronouns. By choosing only nouns for Themes in the second Romanian version, the translator might create an even more specific target version, one which also has a greater argumentative power than the source text. The translator can take similar decisions by analyzing the lexical relations at the global text level and by being consistent all through the text; inconsistent or local changes may disrupt such lexical relations in the information universe. The grammatical analysis at this stage may be extended to the analysis of ‘relators’, i.e. in our conception, verbs which link thematic with rhematic information as shown in the graphic representation in 2.3. Even if relators are part of the IU, they are not carriers of information and we shall not analyze them in depth; however, studies have shown that analyses of grammatical relations between verbs at the global level may display a genre’s preference for a particular tense or mood, (Superceanu et al, 2006; Dejica, 2007a), i.e. future tense of verbs in the section Project Objectives of Project Proposals in English (e.g. will develop) versus present tense with future connotation in Romanian (‘intenţionează să dezvolte’ – intends to develop). 2.5. Analysis of cognitive relations. At this stage, we hypothesize that by visualizing the relations between Themes and Rhemes one can identify and structure frames. Sociologists and psychologists have shown that people organize and store their knowledge of the world as fixed data structures, one such form being the frame (Charniak, 1976; Goffman, 1974; Minski, 1975) which gathers typical individuals, actions and activities, i.e. constituents in general, in a situation. Possible examples of frames are university-frame, car-frame, computer frame, etc. These frames are static representations showing what constituents are associated. As for how these constituents are associated, frames are seen as being made up as recognizable structures of relevancies. What and how constituents are associated in a frame is accounted for cognitively, based on each

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individual’s knowledge background. Since cognition is usually considered a subjective approach, based on intuitive grounds and on general background knowledge, we consider that a frame analysis and classification using the IATRIA model can complement existent approaches and offer thus an objective understanding of the image the author structured the frame-information in a text. Also, such an analysis would help in establishing particular frames or sub-frames (Charniak, 1976: 41).

Our approach to frame analysis (Dejica, 2007b) is a two-step process which starts with the identification of IU constituents using the IATRIA model as shown in 1.2. with the aim of finding out the elements which set up the frame, and continues with their categorization into sub-frames if such is the case (depending on the complexity of each text). We suggest the following categorization, exemplified by a frame analysis of the Ptolemy Project:

- Generic frame (GF) – includes conceptual information specific to each genre which is not seen or made explicit by the sender, but known and expected by the receiver and implicitly by the translator; in our example, the project objectives of the proposal;

- Information universe frame (IUF) – materialization in the text of the conceptual frame; in our case, a computer-frame which is not named explicitly in the text, but deduced from the sum of all the rhematic information in the IU: heterogeneous modeling, dataflow, process networks, discrete-event systems, synchronous/reactive languages, finite-state machines, communicating sequential processes, embedded software, custom hardware;

- Sub-frame or secondary frame (SF) – categorization of the IUF into smaller meaning categories, i.e. hardware and software components of the computer frame: hardware frame (networks, systems, machines) and software frame (modeling, dataflow, languages, processes, software)

Conclusion The present paper introduces my approach to the identification of information universe constituents in texts and presents an analysis of different relations (syntactic, semantic, lexical-grammatical and cognitive) between them from a hol-atomistic perspective. The final PhD thesis will present this analysis in depth and will extend it to other text perspectives as well, i.e. atomistic and holistic, so as to provide a sound base for source text analysis and understanding which can (1) allow for a translator’s individuality (subjectivity, creativity) to manifest itself, and support him/her in making reasonable and consistent decisions as to the relevance and reliability of source text features in the target text, (2) allow for individual variants in text formulation, and (3) account for the fact that a

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source text can have different target versions which may all be ‘correct’, but may reflect different discursive modes, different purposes, or simply different translators’ preferences (Gerzymisch-Arbogast, 2005: 7). References Chafe, W. (1976). ‘Givenness, contrastiveness, definiteness, subjects, topics, and

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Gerzymisch-Arbogast, H. (2006). ‘Text Perspectives and Translation’, available at http://www.est-translationstudies.org/Research%20issues/061028%20Heidi%20ESTResearchIssuesPublicationsHGAedit.htm [March 1, 2008]

Gerzymisch-Arbogast, H. and K. Mudersbach (1988). Methoden des wissenschaftlichen Übersetzens. Tübingen - Basel: Francke.

Gerzymisch-Arbogast/Kunold/Rothfuß-Bastian. (2006). ‘Coherence, Theme/Rheme, Isotopy: Complementary Concepts in Text and Translation‘, In: Carmen Heine/Klaus Schubert/Heidrun Gerzymisch-Arbogast (Hrsg): Text and Translation: Theory andMethodology in Translation. Jahrbuch Überstezen und Dolmetschen 6, 2005/6.Tübingen:Narr

Goffman, E. (1974). Frame Analysis, New York: Harper & Row Grimes, J. (1975). The Thread of Discourse. The Hague: Mouton Minsky, M. (1975). ‘Minsky's frame system theory’ in Schanck and Nash-Weber

(eds.), Proceedings of the 1975 workshop on Theoretical issues in natural language processing, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, Massachusetts, pp 104-116

Mudersbach K. (2008). (forthcoming): 'A New Theme in the Given Theme-Rheme Debate'. Translated by Heidrun Gerzymisch-Arbogast. Saarbrücken

Nida, E. A. (1997). ‘The Principles of Discourse Structure and Content in Relation to Translating’ in: Klaudy, K. & Kohn, J. (eds.) Transferre Necesse Est. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Current Trends in Studies of Translating and Interpreting (5-7 Sept., 1996, Budapest, Hungary) Budapest: Scholastica. 37-43

Superceanu, R., Dejica D., Farcaşiu M., Gabor N., Grosseck, D. (2006). Genuri profesionale în administraţia publică – ghid de redactare, Timişoara: Editura Politehnica.

Vallduvi, E. 1992. The Informational Component. New York: Garland

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October 9th–11th, 2008 – “Dunărea de Jos” University, Galaţi, ROMANIA pp. 92-96 Virginia Mihaela DUMITRESCU Two “Ironic” Gestures: Translation and Literary Criticism

Economic Sciences Academy of Bucureşti, ROMANIA

Like literary criticism, translation, according to Paul de Man (1997), never lives up to its promise of wholeness and coherence, and this is partly because the starting-point in both cases is a fragmentary text, and partly because a translation (or an essay) itself is a text, and as such, it partakes of the discontinuity and disjunction characteristic of all texts.

In a 1983 conference delivered at Cornell University, the critic looks upon Walter Benjamin’s seminal essay, entitled “The Task of the Translator” (“Die Aufgabe des Übersetzers”), as a confirmation of his own deconstructionist views on the inevitable failure of any totalising gesture (here exemplified by the translator’s abortive effort), and, at the same time (and closely related to it), as a text that perfectly illustrates his linguistic „theory” of the insurmountable disjunction between grammar and referential meaning, grammar and figure, or sign and meaning. Benjamin’s essay, written in 1923, is, without doubt, an authoritative text in the area of translation theory that still preserves its intellectual relevance (even when read from a deconstructionist perspective) by addressing issues that are still at the centre of any contemporary debate on translation: firstly, the relationship between the translation and the original, and secondly, the requirements for a correct translation or, in other words, the necessary balance between fidelity and freedom. What particularly draws Paul de Man to it is its insight into the linguistic and epistemological implications of the translation process.

The main idea of the essay (according to de Man’s „rhetorical” reading of it), the impossibility of translation, seems to be confirmed by the failed attempts to translate it into English and French. The cause of that impossibility has to do with the secondary status of translation in relation to the original: by virtue of his subordinate position, the translator „can never do what the original text did.” (de Man 1997:80) Benjamin clearly distinguishes between the task of the translator and that of the poet. Paul de

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Man, in his turn, explains the difference in the following terms: the poet „has some relationship to meaning, to a statement that is not purely within the realm of language.” (ibid.:81) In his „naïveté”, he feels an urge „to convey a meaning that does not necessarily relate to language”, in other words, he believes in the existence of a meaning independent of language (which, to a deconstructionist, is pure illusion). By contrast, the translator focuses on language: as Benjamin remarks, it is „words” rather than „sentences” that constitute the basic elements of a translation; or, as de Man puts it, „translation is a relation from language to language, not a relation to an extralinguistic meaning that could be copied, paraphrased, or imitated.” (ibid.:82)

Translation is very similar to other, equally failed, secondary activities (such as philosophy, history, literary criticism), all of them derived from an „original” (perception, past actions, literary works) that they do not simply imitate or paraphrase, but rather „read” from the perspective of a „pure” language (reine Sprache, as Benjamin terms it), understood as „pure form”, or form „freed of the illusion of meaning.” (ibid.:84) They all draw attention to a „dismembrance” which is „already there in the original.” (idem:84) More importantly, they further „disarticulate” or „undo” an already fractured original. It is, indeed, the task of translation to „relieve” pure language of the „heavy, alien meaning” that burdens it in a literary work. The fracture stated by de Man’s criticism seems to have been already identified in Benjamin’s essay as the divergence between „das Gemeinte” (what is meant) and “die Art des Meinens” ( the way in which meaning is produced), “translated” by de Man as the “discrepancy” or “disjunction” between “logos” and “lexis”, or between “vouloir-dire” and “dire”. The conflict between „das Gemeinte” and “die Art des Meinens”, inherent in any text, becomes manifest in translation (considered as “pure language”), where words tend to take us in a different direction than the one intended by the original, as proved by Benjamin’s example of the new and unexpected connotations added in the French translation of the German word “Brod”; “pain” indeed brings to mind a multitude of French bread varieties (pain français, baguette, ficelle, bâtard, etc.) which may subtly threaten the “stability” (ibid.:87) of the original word (Brod). If the language of the original happens to be our own, the alien elements added by translation may have the effect of alienating us from a language that used to give us a sense of security.

The above-mentioned disjunction is bound to turn translation into a highly unreliable tool. Since it is “pure language”, translation gets drawn into the bottomless depths of language, as exemplified by Hölderlin’s German version of Sophocles’ tragedies (whose literalness makes it unintelligible).

The relationship between the translation, the original and „pure language” is best suggested by the central image of Benjamin’s essay, that of

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the broken amphora, which carries a Kabbalistic connotation (the breaking of the material vessels of our world by the sheer strength of God’s radiating energy, followed by the attempt to restore the original wholeness through the work of „tikkun”). Harry Zohn’s English translation of the passage, quoted by Paul de Man in support of his own „thesis” of the inevitable failure and precariousness of any translation, reads as follows: “Fragments of a vessel which are to be glued together must match one another in the smallest details, although they need not be like one another. In the same way a translation, instead of resembling the meaning of the original, must lovingly and in detail incorporate the original’s mode of signification, thus making both the original and the translation recognizable as fragments of a greater language, just as fragments are part of a vessel.” (ibid.:78) De Man is tempted to interpret the paragraph as a metaphorical representation of the fragmentariness that equally characterises the translation, the original, and language itself, which implies the failure of translation and, by extension, the impossibility of reading. The critic turns, for confirmation, to Carol Jacobs, who, like himself, criticises Zohn’s translation for replacing the de-totalising metonymic image used in the original (the fragments of the vessels “articulated together” must “follow one another”) by a unifying, metaphorical one (the fragments “glued together” must “match” one another) (Jacobs 1975:763). What is really meant by the image of the broken vessel (according to de Man’s reading) is that any translation is a fragment of the original, which is a fragment of “pure language”, which in its turn only exists in a fragmentary state. The English translation clearly betrays the original which is supposed to convey the idea of fragmentation rather than totality, the implication being that “there was no vessel in the first place.” (ibid.:91) Or, in deconstructionist terms, there is no “pure”, entirely non-referential language (“pure signifier” (ibid.:96)), even though we can get glimpses of it if we look at the discrepancy at the very heart of language – the one between “das Gemeinte” and “die Art des Meinens”, between “meaning” and “grammar”, or between meaning and what de Man sometimes refers to as the “autonomous potential of language” (ibid.:10).

In spite of his objections to Zohn’s translation, de Man admits that Benjamin’s text, read “rhetorically”, is highly elusive, and illustrative of his own understanding of the linguistic conflict between “grammar” (regarded as the system of text-generating relationships and functions that are “independent” of the text’s referential meaning and only carry an “undetermined, general potential for meaning”) and “meaning” (a linguistic product, the result of “applying” grammar’s general semantic potential “to a specific unit” (de Man 1979:268) through the referential function of language). In brief, this is how de Man explains what he considers to be the irremediable “divergence” between referential meaning and grammar, which

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he also refers to as “the figural dimension of language” (de Man 1979:270): the referential function involved in the “generation” of a text also leads to the appearance of a referent that, by “destroying” the “indetermination” of grammar’s “potential for meaning”, subverts the grammar system responsible for its constitution. Benjamin’s text deconstructs itself through the discrepancy between its explicit statements about the impossibility of figural totalisations and its own rhetorical practice. Thus, the highly „perverse” image of the broken amphora can lead to the opposite readings we have mentioned, one of which goes against the grain of Benjamin’s stated theory.

Benjamin’s essay raises one more question related to translation, which de Man regards as “the aporia between freedom and faithfulness”. From a deconstructionist viewpoint, translation can only meet the two major requirements of freedom and fidelity in relation to the original if it can reveal the “instability” of the original text as a tension between what is meant and the way meaning is produced. In Benjamin’s text, tension arises from the contradiction between the apparently unifying image of the amphora that could suggest the possibility of a coincidence between trope and meaning, and the idea of disjunction underlying Benjamin’s theory of translation.

Finally, Benjamin’s essay stimulates Paul de Man to meditate on the effect of translation (and, by extension, literary criticism). Ironically, the original owes its survival (and possible inclusion in the canon) to translation (since it is “kept in circulation” by it), but at the same time is “decanonised” by it, since translation brings to the fore the original’s “disjunctions”, “disruptions”, “weaknesses”, “cheatings”, “conventions” that are in contradiction with its explicit statements. The “disruptions”, fragmentations, contradictions and disarticulations, always inherent in the original (even though usually concealed by its seductive rhetoric) make translation impossible (as in the case of the translation of Benjamin’s own essay on translation – due to its ambivalent images that “undo” its “claim” to unity and wholeness).

Not unlike translation, literary criticism – especially the deManean brand of “theoretical”, “non-phenomenal” reading – calls attention to the vulnerable elements of a text, which are generally hidden by its “beauty and seduction.” (de Man 1997:98)

To conclude, given their common linguistic nature, translation and criticism themselves cannot avoid inner contradiction. They both run the risk of being drawn into the “bottomless” linguistic abyss described by Benjamin and analysed, from a deconstructionist perspective, by Paul de Man.

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References Benjamin, W. (1969). ‘The Task of the Translator’, in Illuminations, Harry Zohn, trans.

New York: Schocken Books Jacobs, C. (1975). ‘The Monstrosity of Translation’, in Modern Languages Notes, v. 90 de Man, P. (1979). Allegories of Reading. New Haven and London: Yale University

Press de Man, P. (1997). The Resistance to Theory. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota

Press

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Alina GANEA, Anca GÂŢĂ Equivalences of the RomanianVerbal Form Presumptive in French

“Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi, ROMANIA 1. Introduction Within the last decades, the general trend in Romanian linguistics has focused on the discourse analysis as a means to illustrate the profound changes the Romanian society has undergone since the right to the speech liberty was regained. Consequently, different discourse areas have been approached, mainly those that had not been part of the discursive practice and related to which speakers had not developped any skills. Being generated by the emergeance of new realities and contexts, varieties of discourse are supposedly sensitive to the most subtle changes in as much as they become a faithful image of the reality. In this context, the project that is presently supporting this research is investigating the type of evidence that agumentators may rely on when attempting to make (seem) valid a point of view in argumentative discourse. Falling within the scope of evidentiality envisaged as the linguistic study of evidence, our research eventually aims at revealing forms of argumentative sustainability recurrently occurring both in oral and written discourse. In so doing, we are firstly concerned with the identification of the markers that can be read as accounting for the information vehiculated in the discourse. Relevant researches have already been carried out in French and English, still without conclusive data as to the discourse effects of these markers. Our project is specifically concerned with their identification and analysis, as illustrated by a trilingual corpus: French, Romanian, English.

Romanian linguistics is still a virgin area in this respect since no consistent and progressive research has been carried out in the study of linguistic evidence. The task becomes more challenging since we are confronted with the necessity to isolate the indicators of evidence in

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Romanian before proceeding to any contextual analysis. Furthermore, we are concerned with the isolation of the indicators that have taken over this area of meaning in the other two languages (only French is the case in this paper) in order to develop a unified approach of the semantic category of evidentiality that includes cross-linguistic data.

The present research attempts a description of a verbal mood, confined to the Romanian verbal system, that is associated with the lexicalization of a type of evidence. The analysis will be carried out on a Romanian literary corpus translated into French with a view to analyse the degree of preservation of the evidential validation in the target language.

2. The Presumptive – a grammatical evidential in Romanian 2.1. Evidentiality. Theoretical Preliminaries

Evidentiality is broadly defined as the linguistic study of the source of knowledge lying behind assertions – perceptive, reportative, inferential. The approach has known intense development in the late thirty years with an enlarged area of study and analysis as compared to the initial research. The phenomenon knows different interpretations depending on the resources of the linguistic system taken into consideration, i. e. the possibility to grammaticalize the source of knowledge. According to A. Aikhenvald (2004: 17), only 25% of the languages have this prerogative which made linguists enlarge the interpretation and associate evidentiality with the epistemical modality. In their view, indicating the source of information is directly connected with the attitude of the speaker on the content: perceptive source grants the truthfulness of the content and connotes the speaker’s full responsability, while reportative and inferential sources reside within a less certain modal area and suggests the speaker’s reserve. This is apparently the case of Romanian where there are not specific evidential markers but lexical or grammatical indicators that may contextually acquire evidential interpretation. The inventory of the Romanian evidential indicators has only been done in the 2005 version of the Romanian Academy Grammar by Rodica Zafiu (678-689). The linguist tackles the phenomenon within the Modality Chapter, considering it a component of the epistemic modality subdomain, as a counterpart of the cognitive evaluation. While investigating the three types of sources, reference is made to the means available in Romanian for rendering the information. The information may be encoded in modal verbs, verbal moods, lexical structures, conjunctions etc. The majority of these means are generally common to all the languages that do not grammaticalize evidence, that is why we have focused our present research on a form that is specific to the Romanian verbal system and which is specialized in lexicalizing supposition and doubt, i. e. the presumptive.

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2.2. Presumptive The mood describes the relationship of a verb with reality and intent and it is traditionnally defined as a property of verbs that indicates the speaker’s attitude toward the factuality or likelihood of the action or condition expressed. Mood determines whether a sentence is a statement, a command, or a conditional or hypothetical remark. This determination also encodes references to the speaker’s attitude concerning the action expressed by the verb: that may range from full responsibility to plain reserve.

Romanian has five pesonal moods - indicative, imperative, conditional, conjunctive, and presumptive, and four impersonal ones. The presumptive mood is mainly perceived as expressing presupposition and hypothesis regarding the fact denoted by the verb.

Classified among the irrealis moods considering that the action it expresses has not actually taken place at the moment of speaking, the presumptive connotes doubt, curiosity, concern, condition, indifference, inevitability. It may be used in the present or in the past:

Ar fi aşteptând deja la şcoală. / They may be already waiting at school. Acolo o fi petrecut vacanţa. / He may have spent his holiday there.

In either tense, the presumptive illustrates the basic presupposition use. Romanian knows different ways of expressing pressupositions: the conditional mood – De-ar fi să vină, ar fi îngrozit / If he were to come, he would be terrified, lexical means – opinion verbs such as a crede, a presupune, a bănui / to believe, to suppose, to imagine, to conjecture used in that-clauses.

In point of style, the presumptive is currently used in the spoken language. The formal registers favour structures built up with modal adverbs probabil, poate / probably, perhaps, maybe with predicative role.

Morphologically, the presumptive displays a wide combinatorial availability since it can be formed from the perfect of the conditional optative and of the subjunctive, as well as from the perfect form of the future.

a. the Romanian perfect conditional-optative is made up of the have/want auxiliary conjugations, the infinitive of to be and the past participle – ar fi ajuns;

b. the perfect subjunctive formally integrates the particle să, the infinitive of to be and the past participle – să fi ajuns;

c. the perfect future of the indicative combines the auxiliary want, the infinitive to be, and the past participle – va fi ajuns; the popular future has a similar formation except for the use of the reduced form of the auxiliary want – o fi ajuns.

The presumptive follows these patterns, substituting an –nd form (gerund) to the past participle.

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a'. ar fi ajungând b'. să fi ajungând c'. va fi ajungând / o fi ajungând.

The perfect presumptive is represented by forms that are homonymous with

a''. perfect conditional optative - ar fi ajuns; b''. perfect subjunctive – să fi ajuns; c''. future perfect – va fi ajuns; o fi ajuns.

In all the three mappings, the presumptive signals an indirect evidence. Depending on the type of sentence, this mood may be read as communicating - inferential information The presumptive signals that the propositional content is the conclusion of the speaker’s reasoning starting from implicit premises, and it may often be followed by a justification segment accounting for the presupposition advanced.

O fi ajuns deja acasă, e opt seara deja / He may have already arrived home, it is already eight pm.

The same type of evidential information is semantically expressed by the interrogative presumptive which envisages the process as a slighter possibility and serves the speaker in cautiously advancing hypotheses: Să fi ajuns deja acasă? / Can/Could/Might he have already arrived home?

The reasoning is implicit and the interrogative points to the speaker’s uncertainty as to the truthfulness of the information. - reportative information This type of sentences is usually built with reportative verbs and indicates that the speaker cannot vouch for the information transmitted except than invoking somebody else’s words. Se spune că ar fi având multe bogăţii / They say they are apparently rather wealthy. The presumptive is morphologically a complex mood due to the multiple formants involved and semantically to the formal duplicity that makes its interpretation contextually dependent. The purpose of the analysis that follows is to investigate the formal options used in the French translation and to analyse to what extent the initial evidential meaning has been preserved in translation. 2.3. Equivalences of the presumptive in French This type of approach is difficult given the comparison function lying at the basis of our comparison in the two linguistic domains and the intersected modality matters that are not stable across languages. Our initial assumption is that the absence of a corresponding mood in French obliges

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the translator to resort to a range of modal adverbs that encodes the semantic meaning of the presumptive, still with a modification in the certain / uncertain modal polarization of the utterance.

Since moods do not map neatly from one language to another, modality may be realised morphologically or by free-standing words, and modality interacts in complex ways with other modules of the grammar, like tense and aspect. In point of modal epistemicity, the French conditional seems to be corresponding the closest to the presumptive mood:

- Oi fi de la poliţie, nenişorule…. (E. Barbu, Groapa, p. 70) - C’est-y qu’on serait de la police ? (E. Barbu, La décharge, p. 86)

The initial assertion is turned into an interrogation as a supplementary means to render uncertainty underlying the speaker’s hypothesis. The same holds true for the following example where an assertion is again rendered by an overt interrogation:

- Că nu l-oi vrea de pomană !? (E. Barbu, Groapa, p. 69) - Tu ne voudrais pas que je te le donne pour rien? (E. Barbu, La

décharge, p. 86) When the presumptive occurs in interrogative structures, with

stronger connotations of doubt, the French version prefers a combination of the future with a modal adverb of uncertainty that modifies the indicative meaning of the tense:

- Tu n’auzi că geme, ăsta-i bou ? se întoarse clientul. - Da ce, n-oi vrea să zici că-i de cişit? (E. Barbu, Groapa, p. 69) - Quatre cents ? Tu ne vois donc pas qu’il va crever ? Et t’appelles ça un

boeuf ? - Quoi tu voudras peut-être que je te le donne en solde ? (E. Barbu, La décharge, p. 86)

Nevertheless, the truthfulness of the information is not equally suspended in the French variant where indicative tenses occur accompanied by adverbs. In the following excerpt, the quantity adverb (at least) neutralizes the presumptive doubt, displays the action as a minimal condition for the fulfillment of another action / the existence of a state:

- Bun, bun, mormăia bătrânul. Dar lui i-o place, că n-a văzut-o? (E. Barbu, Groapa, 16) - Bon, bon! grommela le vieux. Mais est-ce qu’elle lui plaira, au moins ? il ne l’a pas encore vue, après tout ! (E. Barbu, La décharge, 19)

Adverbs are frequently involved in rendering the presupposition meaning of the presumptive, with different modal shaping. In the following excerpt, the present is accompanied by a concluding adverb that invites to a confession:

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- De ce ţi-o fi frică, domnu Stere, că eşti în toată firea, ai mai văzut şi dumneata la viaţa dumitale, ei, Doamne păzeşte ! (E. Barbu, Groapa, 23) - Mais qu’est-ce qui vous fait donc peur, monsieur Stere ? Vous êtes un homme dans toute la force de l’âge, et vous avez sûrement bien connu des femmes dans votre vie, Dieu soit loué ! (E. Barbu, La décharge, 29)

The adverb may be an epistemical modifier that turns the presupposition into an overt assertion.

- O fi găinar d-ăia care ciordeşte corcoviţe şi le mănâncă fofoleaza…aruncă în batjocură Sandu-Mână-Mică şi-i scuipă între picioare. (E. Barbu, Groapa, 51) - C’est sûrement un de ces embrouilleurs à la manque qui chouravent des prunes et qui sucent les noyaux ! lança ironiquement Sandu la Menotte, en crachant entre les jambes de l’apprenti. (E. Barbu, La décharge, 63)

-Ai adus prinţesele ? -Le-am adus. Le-o fi şi lor. (E. Barbu, Groapa, p. 59) - T’as amené les princesses ? - Bien sûr! Elles ne demandent sûrement pas mieux, elles aussi ! (E. Barbu, La décharge, p. 73)

In rejection utterance, the presumptive occurs as a means of denouncing the pertinence of a point of view [it is not relevant whether she is a Gipsy or not]:

- Nu vă uitaţi la mine, da-mi place, fraţilor, ţigancă o fi, treaba ei. Şi o contesă când se scoală din pat are negru sub unghie, ce-mi tot spuneţi mie?! Inima, ea ştie tot, ea iartă tot, ehe... (E. Barbu, Groapa, p. 127) - Ne vous fâchez pas, les amis, mais moi, je vous dis qu’elle me plaît. C’est une tziganne, et puis après ? Ça la regarde, pas vrai ? Une comtesse aussi a du noir sous les ongles, n’allez pas me dire le contraire ! Le cœur sais tout, pardonne tout, eh !eh ! (E. Barbu, La décharge, p. 161)

In the French variant, the structure is extended and more explicit: the present is used to introduce the point of view, whereas the rhetorical question (et puis après?), the counterpart of the presumptive, communicates the speaker’s disagreement on the hearer’s position. 3. Conclusions The absence of a corresponding form in the target language imposes certain constraints on the translation. The verbal form of presumptive is only specific to a certain range of Balkanic languages, among which Romanian is included. Its modal meaning of doubt and supposition obliges the translator to resort to alternative choices in the target language, i.e. linguistic means that corroborate the semantism of presumptive, without being specific markers. The analysis of the corpus revealed that the

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selection of the counterparts in the translation of the presumptive is dictated by the type of speech act where it occurs. Whereas in assertion, it is usually rendered by the conditional, in questions, the future in combination with modal adverbials occur more frequently. Modal adverbials appear to be frequently selected as means to render the presumptive value and they may range from specific epistemic adverbials (peut-être) to less specialized ones. References Aikhenvald, A. (2004). Evidentiality. Oxford: Oxford University Press Barbu, E. (1975). Groapa. Bucureşti: Editura Eminescu Barbu, E. (1964). La décharge, traducere de Monica Lovinescu. Bucureşti: Meridiane Chafe, W., Nichols, J. (eds) (1986). Evidentiality: The Linguistic Coding of Epistemology. Norwood, New Jersey: Ablex Zafiu, R. (2005). “Modalitatea epistemică”, in Gramatica limbii române II. Enunţul. Bucureşti: Editura Academiei Române: 678 – 689

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October 9th–11th, 2008 – “Dunărea de Jos” University, Galaţi, ROMANIA pp. 104-109 Bianca-Oana HAN Translation – Today and Tomorrow – on the Availability of a Translation

“Petru Maior” University of Tg. Mureş, ROMANIA

In a world like the one we live in today, where speed, change, novelty… seem to be major ingredients of all there is, cultures would probably strive to exist by their own, if it hadn’t been for the means and support of communication diachronically or synchronically oriented. Thus, on the one hand, cultures relate to and lean on other cultures, communicating by means of literatures and translations of literature. On the other hand, they ‘communicate’ to the periods before the actual moment and prepare the future moment, again, using the same means of communication. This has always been a circular process. The main idea here is circulation of forms of communication in order to ensure perenniality and availability in a time which seems to have become everyone’s worse enemy ever. It is in the same manner true that ‘the circulation of literary works acknowledged by the universal culture patrimony has become a necessity within the evolution and progress of creation, for the renewal in literary themes and techniques, as well as it is a confession of the cooperation spirit and emulation among national literatures, illustrating the permanent synthesis between tradition and innovation, synthesis substantially favoured by the process of translation.’ (1) There have been many debates upon the condition of translations and their contribution to the process of establishing the cultural frame of nations. Since the very beginnings, the one who undertook the trouble to render certain words from one language into a foreign one, had the idea of closeness, proximity in his mind; he considered that his action of trans-porting words, ideas, ideals between two entities of different languages could enable them to reach a mutual spiritual territory, thus, dismissing the obvious linguistic obstacles, in order to achieve a better communication.

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In their attempt, translators seem to have been ‘animated’ by a phenomenon of socio-historical and cultural disparity which often led to synchronic aspirations. Romul Munteanu considers that ‘these synchronic aspirations were also caused by some other factors enabling the change of ideas, which had as a root the belief that every people can contribute in a specific manner to the development of culture and art, no individual nor scanty collectivity being able to achieve that what a large human community might, by focusing certain efforts into the same direction.’(2) The ideas we discussed about, the efforts that had to be taken, all these and other factors need to pass, before all, the test of time. Generally speaking, life, under all its forms is subject to time, which seems to be the only one able to touch everything and ‘get away with it’. It is of common knowledge how people have always tried to deal with time, if not master it, than at least control it, use it, work with it. Time management seems to be one of the most important coordinates life is wrapped around today. In order to ensure themselves a place in the literature of one people, writers choose to leave a part of their souls under an art form, be it a novel, poem or play. We have to agree that in most of the cases, the true value of certain writers wouldn’t have been rightfully acknowledged hadn’t been for the translations in different languages, which enabled them to reach a larger public; therefore, translations have the merit and the responsibility, at the same time, to continue the process of insurance against the vicissitudes of time. In the same article, Munteanu states ‘translations constitute the second facet of the patrimony of values within a culture.’(3) This patrimony of values implies that a certain culture of a certain people enriches itself due to the connections and communication (which, obviously, go both ways) it establishes to other cultures by means of translations of any kind. The phenomenon of translation equivalates, therefore, a permanent enrichment of the language with new concepts, experiments: translations „enhance acts of searching of new concepts, of permanent exploration of semantic hues in order to serve the original text as true as possible.” (4) All the new concepts or even the ones already existing in the language have to be used carefully and responsibly by the translator who has to consider many factors in order to best fit the aim, the readers with their expectations, the socio-historical frame, and why not, the air and atmosphere of the epoch. For instance, the use of some old terminology, archaisms is not always safe, unless the original text, the source text imposes it, and even so, with extra care, to be properly explained and supported. That might be a reason why sometimes translations of certain literary works performed at a certain period of time, might require new

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approaches, a sort of an ‚up-to-date’ re-translation, due to the dynamics of the language. In a very interesting article which appeared in Cronica (5), Hertha Perez speaks about the availability of translations; according to her, we can observe an ’intrinsic perishable state’ or ’vocation towards a perishable state’ characteristic to any translation, which does not relate to a ’perishable state of the original’. ’Let us imagine any original text belonging to whatever historical epoch – in the Greek Antiquity, Medieval or Romantic era, for instance. The translation of such a text is being performed using the linguistic and stylistic means of the target language, proper to a certain historical moment. After large time intervals these means become old, ’old-fashioned’ thus making the translation itself obsolete.’ The author of the article mentioned wants us to observe that by large intervals of time, we might understand even decades, not necessarily centuries, especially in the case of relatively young cultures, caught in a process of rapid evolution. This doesn’t mean, of course, that the obsolete, old translations should just be thrown away, but that they are righteously perceived by a different, specialised, public. They continue to belong to the patrimony of culture and might even constitute into models for future (re-)translations. Therefore, a culture which pretends to find itself in a continuous process of evolution benefits from many series of translations of the same original material but this doesn’t necessarily mean (as the theory of evolution might have us believe) that the newest translations are always better than the previous ones. For instance, we agree that the Romanian literature became richer once ’Faust’ was translated from German, but it is Lucian Blaga’s translation the one that is considered to be more accurate as compared to the one performed by St. Aug. Doinas, sometime after Blaga’s.

Still, we should not lose sight of the idea and admit that every attempt to offer a new version to an original material constitutes an act of progress of the language and a new effort of assimilation of certain masterpieces. The literary works that truly deserve to be called ’masterpiece’ are the ones that require and are offered several series of translations, as they are the ones powerful enough to sustain culture. It is, thus, of paramount importance for every new generation of readers to come in contact with and become aware of the most representative authors of their own culture and of cultures around them, from all times. This helps readers acquire and develop a sound perspective over the whole cultural phenomenon.

It is well known how language is undergoing a continuous process of evolution, being as ’alive’ as the people who speak it. This metaphor of the life of the language makes us understand how language cannot back out from the modifications, transformations, alterations and enrichments

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that take place during the lifetime of a language, which lasts as long as its people ’nourish’ it. ’Nurturing’ language is a complex process which requires the efforts and input performed by every individual up to the entire community. Even if it might seem inconceivable, every user of the language is responsible for the ’fate’ of that language, not only the writers of masterpieces. Therefore, the translators, who have to render language for a certain public of a certain time, ought to consider that, when approaching a certain translation of a literary piece, they need to consider the actual state of the language they translate in as, since the source language remains unchanged (being the one the writer used in order to convey his thoughts) the target language suffers or should be suffering the mark of time, i.e. evolution, visible at the language level.

One should also become aware that this phenomenon of influence goes both ways; i.e. if we agreed that language leaves its mark on the translations, thus on literature at a higher level, we need to accept that the latter has certain effects on the former. There are cases when certain terms entered or were even invented in the language as a result of translations, since the translator felt he needed to ’improvise’ in order to approach the original material properly. These ‘experiments’, as they were perceived in the beginning, were eventually adopted by the welcoming language and became part of the same linguistic patrimony. For instance, Romul Munteanu (6) reminds us how Darie Novaceanu had to create a non-existing style in the older Romanian poetry, the ‘manierist style’ in order to be able to render the translation of Gongora. Therefore, we became aware that the problem being discussed here, that of the availability (of a translation) of a literary work could be treated as a matter of taste of the public reader. The same Romul Munteanu (7) admits that this is an important issue to be taken into consideration; ’thus, the taste of the public belonging to different generations or even to the same ones, might lead to different translated versions of a certain literary piece.’ This is somehow rather strange, since taste is perceived to be relative and therefore not a viable measure unit. Who knows what interesting and unpredictable mutations might this public taste bring about in the future? The only thing we can be sure of is precisely that in time these changes will take place at the language level and that the users of the language for whatever means (common speakers, writers, translators, etc.), need to be prepared. In order to be prepared, these users of the language need to be informed, i.e. hold enough information on the actual socio-historical frame the certian stage of the language is developing itself. On the other hand, we have already implied that the viability which leads to the availability of a translation is closely related to accuracy in the process of rendering words from one language to another. Translation, as

http://ro-en.ro/index.php?d=e&q=inconceivable

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already over-debated, is a long, striving, time and energy consuming process, which requires lots of qualities on the part of the translator. Supporting this idea, Ana Cartianu chose to clear things from the point of view of the translator in her essay which appeared in ’Secolul XX’ (8): „The activity of the translator is a labour which implies patience, scrupulosity and devotion as well as inspiration and imagination. Besides the cultural horizon and linguistic competence, it requires some sort of a dual personality on the part of the translator. On the one hand, he carefully sets down, in order to confer as accurate as possible the intention, structure and language of the original, without harming the linguistic strata, the nerve, clear nature and the rhythm of the original style; on the other hand, by discovering new lexical, structural and idiomatic equivalences, and by use of fantasy and poetic feeling, he becomes the creator in a different register, on a different scale, of the original symphony.” There are voices who might argue that up to a certain degree, the author is introduced to the world of the readers by the ability and talent of the translator. In his article, Romul Munteanu (9) considers that we can, unfortunately, find several cases in which great (Romanian or foreign) writers do not benefit from a well-deserved acknowledgment or from the adequate aesthetic credit, on account of some precarious translations. Thus, the translation of literary works constitutes a form of art by means of which the talent of the translator mediates the circulation of another talent (i.e. the writer’s). There are many factors that need to be considered when trying to debate upon the issue of availability of translations. The issue in question cannot be approached outside the relations the translations have to the general social and historical frame culture is developing in, the close relation to the ’father’ of the original material to be translated. i.e. the author, the relation to the public reader, a very severe agent to be considered, and last, but surely not least, the language, this forever changing element in this complex equation culture can be perceived as. Notes: (1) according to Gh. Bulgar in Interferente Culturale in Arta Traducerii, from

Romania Literara, XVII nr. 21/1984, p. 3 (2) Romul Munteanu in Cultura Nationala si Traducerile from Romania Literara,

XIII nr. 25/1980, p. 20 (3) Idem (4) Romul Munteanu in Permanenta îmbogăţire a cunoaşterii, from

Contemporanul nr 39(1976)/1984, p.12 (5) Hertha Perez in Dinamica traducerilor, from Cronica 16 nr 43, 1981, pg. 10 (6) Romul Munteanu in Permanenta îmbogăţire a cunoaşterii, from

Contemporanul nr 39(1976)/1984, p.12

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(7) idem (8) Ana Cartianu in Din unghiul traducatorului, from Secolul XX nr 1,2,3/1980,

pp. 213-215 (9) Romul Munteanu in Permanenta îmbogăţire a cunoaşterii, from

Contemporanul nr 39(1976)/1984, p.12 References Bantaş, A. (1999). Didactica traducerii, Bucharest:Teora Publishing House Bulgar, Gh. (1984). Interferenţe Culturale în Arta Traducerii, România Literară,

XVII/21 Cartianu, A. (1980). Din unghiul traducătorului, Secolul XX nr. 1,2,3 Doinaş, Şt. Aug. (1974). Orfeu şi Tentaţia Realului, Bucharest: Eminescu Publishing

House Ionescu, G. (1981). Orizontul traducerii, Bucharest: Univers Publishing House Leviţchi, L. (2001). Manualul Traducătorului, Bucharest:Teora Publishing House Munteanu, R. (1980). Cultura Naţională şi Traducerile, România Literară, XIII/25 Munteanu, R. (1984). Permanenta îmbogăţire a cunoaşterii, Contemporanul nr.

39(1976) Novăceanu, D. (1980). Frumoasele Infidele, România Literară, XIII nr. 23 Novăceanu, D. (1980). Condiţia şi virtuţile traducerilor, România Literară XIII nr. 24 Perez, H. (1981). Dinamica traducerilor, Cronica nr.16/43 Ricoeur, P. (2005). Despre traducere, Bucharest: Polirom Publishing House Steiner, G. (1983). După Babel, Bucharest: Univers Publishing House

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Petru IAMANDI Giving a Helping Hand to the Author, or Translating the First 150 Pages of Joseph Kanon’s “The Good German”


Sometimes authors commit errors, especially when they try to recreate the past and set their stories in an environment they are not very familiar with, and use words from the language of the place which they don’t have a good command of. Also, since their first target readers are their fellow-countrymen, they tend to be too topical. This makes the translator’s job more difficult, he having to correct the errors overtly or covertly, and provide explanations in the form of footnotes. This paper is an insight into the translator’s logic and decision-making meant to improve the author’s work and help the reader understand it better. Joseph Kanon’s The Good German is a case in point.

The novel was published in 2001 and turned into a film in 2006, starring George Clooney. It is set in Berlin, 1945, soon after Germany’s capitulation and the city’s partition into zones of occupation. Jake Geismar, an American freelance reporter, came to Berlin in 1936 to cover the 11th Summer Olympic Games. Understanding that it was easy for a reporter to make a living in Germany while the Nazis supplied the headlines, Jake signed on as the Berlin correspondent for CBS. It was here that he met Lena, who was married to an SS scientist, and fell in love with her. In 1941, as Germany was about to declare war on the US, Jake was forced to leave Berlin, and Lena.

For four years, Jake followed the war, first for CBS in London, then in North Africa, where he was wounded, then with General Patton in France, and then again for the final race east, seeing Buchenwald, Nordhausen and Camp Dora. All of this made him quite famous and, for what he did not report, put him in good stead with the military.

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Now it is the end of the war on the European front and the Westerners are finally allowed into Berlin after the two-month Russian occupation. Collier magazine has hired Jake to write four articles on the Allied occupation. Through an old connection, he gets a pass to the Potsdam Conference where Truman, Churchill and Stalin are meeting to discuss postwar arrangements. Although in Berlin as a military correspondent, Jake’s main purpose is to seek out Lena.

Even though the press are invited to Berlin, they are not allowed to actually attend the Potsdam Conference. Only the photographers have the privilege to go on site. But Jake manages to sneak a ride into the Cecilienhof Palace, the place in the Russian zone where the conference is about to start, by posing as a photographer’s assistant. During the brief photo session with the leaders of the Allied forces, a body of an American soldier is fished out of the lake nearby, the wind catching his torn money bag letting loose thousands of occupation marks. Jake sees all this and is at the body before any of the Russians understand what is going on. When he reaches for the dog tags, he sees the soldier’s face and is shocked that it is the young man who flew on the plane with him from Frankfurt. Then he notices the bullet hole in his chest. What was Lt. Tully doing in the Russian zone? And why did he have so much money on him? Jake’s journalist instincts smell a big story so he begins his own inquires that take him on a tour of the battered capital of the Third Reich and the competition among the winners to grab the spoils of victory, including the German scientists like Lena’s husband.

Jake’s dual research into the story of Lt. Tully, a murdered soldier that, strangely, no one seems to care about, and his search for Lena amongst the ruins, lead him to a larger story of corruption and intrigue reaching deep into the heart of the occupation and a city not only physically but morally devastated. This is where children scavenge for food in the rubble, sex can be had for a cigarette, and the black market is the only means of survival, where Americans and Russians are preying on the starving Germans, against the background of de-Nazification trials and inquests, and the troubling questions of just what is good and evil.

More than that, many of Jake’s German friends were Nazi party members even before he left Berlin. Every new thing he learns about that four-year period is worse than the last and, naturally, everything is political. With each twist, the depth of crimes of the ordinary German citizens gets worse and the empathy muddled, until the question about who is the good German is forever mitigated by circumstances. In the end the reader is left with moral ambiguity about the role of the German people

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during World War II, especially the extent to which many complied, simply believing they had to.

The result is a historical thriller, at once a murder mystery, a love story and a riveting portrait of a unique time and place: the Potsdam Conference which, if it had had a different outcome, the succeeding events might not have escalated to the Cold War. Kanon’s plausible plot shows how the Cold War came about by the US and Russia focusing on capturing the single most valuable war prize – Hitler’s scientists.

Joseph Kanon’s novel received praising reviews1 from the very beginning, all of them pointing out the author’s skill in recreating the bleak haunting atmosphere of the 1945 Berlin:

“[Kanon] is fast approaching the complexity and relevance not just of le Carré and Greene but even of Orwell: provocative, fully realized fiction that explores, as only fiction can, the reality of history as it is lived by individual men and women.” Neil Gordon, The New York Times Book Review “ … Kanon demonstrates an eerie mastery of the evocative historical detail . . . You can feel the shattered glass crunching beneath your feet as you read. You can smell the smoke-scorched broken bricks . . . Kanon is as ambitious a novelist as he is a gifted one.” Ken Ringle, The Washington Post “Kanon is the heir apparent to Graham Greene; he writes of moral quandaries that are real and not created to drive a plot. A multilayered story, beautifully told.” Robin W. Winks, The Boston Globe “Gripping … Kanon has written a tale about the untenable choices war entails, and about the moral dangers of demonization. For American readers, the book cuts to the bone, coming at a time when we have become the demonized and are doing our best to avoid becoming the demonizers.” Newsday Indeed, in order to be as thorough as possible, the author researched

postwar Berlin for one year. In his own words: The research was almost entirely from print sources, along with photographs and films made at the time. I went to Berlin of course — I think of Berlin as a character in the book — but my German is so rudimentary that I never interviewed survivors … Luckily, there is a sizable literature about this period written at the time or shortly afterward, not only by Allied soldiers but by German civilians, and much of the German material has been translated. By far the most useful for my purposes were letters,

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memoirs, or oral histories by Berliners, who give you the crucial details of daily life … How did you get milk for your children? Was medicine available? How did the GIs treat you? How did the black market work? For all this, and more, you had to turn to the Berliners.2

Apart from that, in order to help the reader visualize the characters’ movements within the city, the author even provides a map of Greater Berlin, as well as one of Potsdam, placed before the novel itself. However, in a note preceding the novel, Kanon cautiously mentions, “Any story set in the past runs the inevitable risk of error” , and dwells on several liberties he has taken for what he calls “narrative convenience.”3 Elsewhere, in an interview, answering the question “How much liberty is the novelist allowed in terms of truth to timeline and setting?” he says,

Ideally, you want to get everything right. Aside from anything else, a knowledgeable reader will be stopped on the page by an error and no writer wants that. And certainly if you are trying to create a realistic picture of a time and place (as opposed to a deliberate literary distortion), you have an obligation to be accurate. On the other hand, you can’t be fanatical about this. These are novels, not history lessons, and sometimes you bend to the narrative.4

So “a knowledgeable reader will be stopped on the page by an error and no writer wants that.” What about the translator of the book? What will he do about it? Obviously, he can write a letter to the author, if the latter is still around, or the editor and tell him about the error or errors so that the next edition will be spotless. What should he do about it? That is the question I had to deal with while translating about one third of The Good German.

First I came across several German words that were not spelt correctly. For example:

He felt the blunt tip of a gun in his back. “Snell,” the Russian commanded, evidently his one word of German.5

Luckily, I studied German in high school and I have a good German-Romanian dictionary so I double-checked the spelling and, of course, it is schnell, meaning fast, quickly. My first impulse was to add a footnote providing the translation and the right spelling, but that would have put the author in an embarrassing position. What would the reader think about Kanon’s research when he does not know how to spell his German? Then I thought of the explicit irony in the sentence, but that would have hit the

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target only if the word had been written and not uttered by the Russian soldier. No matter how ignorant the soldier was, he couldn’t have missed the right sounds in such a common word …Well, unless he spoke with a lisp. And then I found one of Kanon’s interviews on the Internet – “my German is so rudimentary that I never interviewed survivors” – and I knew what I had to do: provide the Romanian equivalent in a footnote and correct the spelling in the text.

Kaputt is another German word that the author was rather careless about. Indeed, the word is part of the English language now, therefore he uses the English spelling, which has one t, but at the same time he italicizes it, most likely alluding, for the American reader at least, to the German origin of the word. As in the previous example, my decision was to use the German spelling.

“I was looking for the institute,” Jake said in German. “Closed,” the man said automatically, but now it was his turn to start, surprised to hear German. “Yes. Do you know when it opens in the morning?” “It doesn’t open. It’s closed. Kaput.” He dipped his head, reflex manners. “Forgive me. I thought – an American. I thought you were looking for the Kommandatura. Come, Schatzie.” 6 The excerpt above ends with what seems to be a proper name -

Schatzie. Actually, this is a German term of endearment, a noun meaning treasure or darling. Here the speaker talks to his dog and the capital letter might make the American reader think it is the dog’s name. But it isn’t. German nouns are always written with a capital initial letter and keeping them like that in another language can be misleading, as in this case. This must be the reason why, with a few exceptions, Kanon does not stick to the German rule. Nouns such as Frau, Fräulein, Deutsch, Blockleiter, Hausfrau, Nacht, Nebel, Fragebogen, Greifer, Lager, Kino, Wurst start with a small letter, but not Herr, Luftwaffe, Freikorps, or Wehrmacht. Since common nouns in Romanian also start with a small letter, I have decided to do the same in my translation, the more so as Luftwaffe, Freikorps, or Wehrmacht, for instance, appear in Romanian texts as such. And, of course, to provide the equivalents in footnotes.

When it comes to the umlaut, which is characteristic of the German language, the author tends to overlook it, especially in proper names: Gunther instead of Günther or Grunewald instead of Grünewald. So putting the umlaut back meant doing justice to German and saving the author’s face. I couldn’t do the same thing about Muller, the name of an American officer. Historically, the name is German – Müller – but it has been

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Americanized, my not using the umlaut here being influenced by the way they pronounce it in the film.

Another thing that makes reading this novel difficult is the abundance of German place names which the author does not bother to explain. I don’t think the average American reader is so conversant with German or the topography of Berlin, in spite of the map of the city at the beginning of the book, that he would know what everything is about. Let’s take the following sentence: “Goebbels’ big party on the Pfaueninsel, the trees decked out in thousands of lights shaped like butterflies, officers swaggering along the footpaths, drunk on champagne and importance, throwing up in the bushes.”7 The German Insel and the English isle may have the same root, thus ringing half a bell to an American (Pfaunen is the plural for peacock, so he will never guess it), but the Romanian reader does need an explanation: the Peacock Island, in the Havel River, south-west of Berlin.

Or the following line: “You missed the president,” he said. “Went into town after lunch. Had the whole Second Armored lined up on the Avus. Quite a picture.”8

Here if I didn’t provide an explanation, the reader might think that the Avus was a wide street or boulevard that could accommodate a whole American armored regiment. But there is more to the Avus than this. First it’s an abbreviation, coming from Automobil-Verkehrs- und Übungs-Strasse, second its correct spelling is AVUS, and third it used to be a motor racing circuit on the south-western outskirts of Berlin.

Or the following paragraph: “The uneasy mood followed him up the street, the mountains of rubble no longer an impersonal landscape but the Berlin he’d known, a part of his life knocked out too. At the corner, Unter den Linden was gray with ash. Even the Adlon had been bombed.”9 While some readers might have heard of Unter den Linden, an old boulevard in the centre of Berlin, the most one can make of the context is that the Adlon was an important building. And it was: a huge fashionable hotel, lying directly opposite the Brandenburg Gate. Which again asks for a footnote.

Another German place name whose meaning is not clear appears in this paragraph: “They drove south toward Babelsberg, the old route to the film studios, and met the first Russian sentry on the Lange Brücke. He looked at the driver’s pass, pretending to understand English, and waved them through with a machine gun.”10 What was the Lange Brücke? A checkpoint, no doubt. But some readers need more than that and I think

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one of the translator’s obligations is to do his translation as clear as possible. So, footnote: The Lange Brücke is the German for the Long Bridge.

Sometimes, when locals in the book refer to familiar places such as Alexanderplatz or Kurfürstendamm, which the author wisely mentions first in their full length, they’d rather clip the words, using the Alex or Ku’damm respectively. In such cases, footnotes are also welcome as these clippings tend to confuse the less alert readers.

Leaving Kanon’s rather unorthodox use of German behind, let me turn to some other situations which in my opinion require footnotes, apart from dozens of American abbreviations and names of various personalities which I’m afraid even an erudite American would find hard to digest. In the following excerpt, describing the somber atmosphere preceding the Potsdam Conference, there is a term, The Big Three, which needs special attention:

A beige cloud hung over everything – not smoke, a thick haze of soot and plaster dust, as if the houses could not quite bring themselves to leave. But Berlin was gone. The Big Three were coming to divide up ruins.11

At first sight, any Romanian reader who showed a little bit of interest in History while he was in school would guess that the Big Three were Harry Truman, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin. Nevertheless, this is a good opportunity for the translator to mention when the conference took place, the positions of the Big Three, and what they discussed, and quite importantly, the fact that Churchill was replaced during the conference by Clement Attlee. Why? Because almost a hundred pages later there is the following exchange about Churchill:

“You know, I’m worried about Winston. He’s been blathering on about the Polish borders. Why?” “Why not?” … “Because they were decided the minute uncle Joe crossed them. All this carrying on. It’s not like him.” “Maybe he’s playing for time.” “No, he’s distracted. The election, I expect. Pity, coming right during the conference. I think it’s put him off his game.”12

Which needs another footnote explaining why Churchill became so “distracted” all of a sudden: His party lost the election and, consequently, he lost his job to Attlee, the new Prime Minister of Great Britain.

But who is “uncle Joe”? Early in the novel someone says the conference has not started yet because “uncle Joe’s late. They say he has a

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cold.”13 Uncle Joe is, of course, Stalin, and that is what the Americans and the British called him during the war. So there comes another footnote telling the reader that Stalin arrived at the conference a day late, citing official business that required his attention, but in fact he may have suffered a minor heart attack.

In an exchange between Brian, a journalist, and a congressman, the former tries to mock at the latter:

“You with the conference or have you just come for a look-in?” Brian said, playing with him. “I’m not attending the conference, no.” “Just come to see the raj, then.” “Meaning?” “Oh, no offence. It’s very like, though, wouldn’t you say? Military Government. Pukkah sahibs, really.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “Well, neither do I, half the time,” said Brian pleasantly. 14

The congressman sounds puzzled most likely because he doesn’t know the Indian words raj and pukkah sahibs. If an American congressman does not know them - aren’t politicians supposed to know everything? - I wonder what the author expected from the average reader. Which does not mean that I, as the translator of the book, should be as confident about the Romanian reader. Therefore, I’ve kept the Indian words as they are, otherwise the congressman’s confusion wouldn’t have been credible, and written two footnotes saying that in the context raj refers to the new rule, while pukkah sahibs mean “decent rulers.”

Finally, two related excerpts about the Russians’ behaviour in the 1945 Berlin:

“Take a gun if you go out. The Russians are still all over the place. Once they get liquored up, it’s like Dodge City out there.”15

“The war’s not over here. Look at them,” he said, indicating the Russians. “Toasts. Their men are still all over, drunk half the time. Last week a jeepload of them start waving guns down in Hermannplatz – our zone – and before you could say boo, one of our MPs starts shooting and we’re back at the O.K. Corral. Three dead, one ours.”16

Here Dodge City and O.K. Corral are the place names that need to be explained, although their negative connotation is clear enough and I find no fault with the author. But why shouldn’t the Romanian reader know that in the nineteenth century Dodge City, Kansas, had more famous (and

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infamous) gunfighters than any other town in the West, and that in the same century the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, witnessed the most famous gunfight in the history of the West: 30 shots were fired in 30 seconds?

During another interview, Joseph Kanon was asked what kind of reaction he had received from European readers, German in particular, after the publication of his book. Here is his answer:

I was extremely nervous about The Good German - so much of it, after all, is a German story and I thought I’d be accused of being an ausländer, with no right to tell it. But the opposite happened. I went to Berlin when the book was published and people would come up to me and say that it brought so many things back to them, that the period was correctly evoked (my deepest worry). They were eager to talk about it. The horrors of the war are still real in Germany, even for generations two or three times removed from it. Questions of guilt, collective and otherwise, are still important. In any case, the reception there was all any writer could have hoped for - it remains for me an extraordinary experience.17 I’m quite sure his book will enjoy a similar reception in Romania,

even if for different reasons. And I hope my little corrections and more or less substantial footnotes will help the Romanian readers understand The Good German better and, why not, appreciate my effort too.

Notes 1 See the blurb, Joseph Kanon, The Good German, Picador, New York, 2001. 2 www.josephkanon.com.Kanon_Pages_09_27_b.pdf3 Joseph Kanon, op. cit., p. i. 4 www.josephkanon.com.Kanon_Pages_09_27_b.pdf5 Joseph Kanon, op. cit., p. 52. 6 Ibid., p. 69. 7 Ibid., p. 5. 8 Ibid., p. 10. 9 Ibid., p. 17. 10 Ibid., p. 49. 11 Ibid., p. 9. 12 Ibid., p. 113. 13 Ibid., p. 10. 14 Ibid., pp. 6-7. 15 Ibid., p. 37.

http://www.josephkanon.com.kanon_pages_09_27_b.pdf/


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16 Ibid., p. 62. 17 www.readersroom/coffee57.html References Kanon, J. (2001). The Good German, New York: Picador Electronic resources: Author interview and discussion questions for THE GOOD GERMAN by Joseph Kanon, www.josephkanon.com.Kanon_Pages_09_27_b.pdfReadersroom.com interview, 2005, www.readersroom/coffee57.html.

http://www.readersroom/coffee57.html


http://www.readersroom/coffee57.html

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Nana KAJAIA Peculiarities of Transmitting the Author’s Viewpoint in Translation

Batumi Shota Rustaveli University, GEORGIA

The images depicted in fiction indeed contain author’s viewpoint, judgment and assessment. However, it rarely has verbal expression. The author’s viewpoint should not be understood only as “a simple reference to the topic”. The narrated story of the reality naturally means the involvement of the author’s creative style, or, in other words, the author’s viewpoint joined with the assessment moment composes “the whole system of stylistic peculiarities, characteristic to literary texts, with all the expressive nuances.” (Vinogradov 1971: 198).

During the SL text analysis, as well as during the analysis of the translated text, a significant part of the interest (and sometimes complexity, too) is created with not only the content aspects of the narative, but also with the poetic peculiarities of the author’s viewpoint. We have singled out in the paper some peculiarities of the author’s viewpoint and its reproduction, on the basis of the comparative analysis of the Georgian novel “Don’t Worry, Mother” by N. Dumbadze and its Russian version.

The sun, the traditional allegoric image characteristic to N. Dumbadze’s fiction is seen as a kind of key to understanding the writer’s aesthetic viewpoint. It bears specific a “moral and social essence” since “the sun becomes a symbol of life, immortality.” (Eligulashvili 1972: 236) Therefore, the episodes with the symbols of the sun, acquire status of the key passages, whose function should be reproduced with the highest degree of adequacy in the other language and culture. In our opinion, the specifics of such passages should be put down to detailed analysis, more with the fact, that almost all of them undergo similar modifications in other languages–which makes the Dumbadze’s narrating manner less expressive.

Viewing through the artistic aspect, one of the important passages of the novel is the scene of Issidor before his shooting. Understanding the

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significance of the passage, Z. Akhvlediani, the translator, masterly reproduced it in the TL. The function of the sun is adequately rendered in the Russian text, although the rendering of this key image of the novel has a single linear approach.

The Russian version: «Жизнь – вечная, неистребимая – пульсировала и билась кругом, жизнь – любимая, желанная – струилась, наполняя собой каждую травинку, каждый листок, каждую песчинку». The comparison makes it clear that the symbol “sun” is not to be found in the translation. It is changed for the direct pragmatic substitute “life”, which is only to be found in the SL text and which is typically Dumbadze’s artistic style of narration. A reader of the original text has the opportunity to independently infer the pragmatic meaning of the symbol; however, the Russian reader has not been given this same opportunity of making such inferences and feeling himself/herself part of the narration.

The original text also renders a significant epithet of the sun. The mentioned detail helps reproduction of the sun “in its full image”, in particular, the sun is not just a motivating power, it is also an ally of a person, not abandoning him even in the last minutes of life. Unfortunately, the epithet is omitted in the Russian version and consequently, the author’s opinion is not fully reproduced. Issidor’s recuperation is also rendered in the SL text allegorically. A symbolic struggle between two images: the sun (life) and “the sky, as black as the Circassian felt cloak” (death). In the SL text both symbols are twice repeated in one phrase. The repetition results in the tension of the situation, pointing out to the drama of the life-and-death struggle. The repetition creates an elevated tone, which corresponds to the narration and which reminds of the biblical expressiveness. The above-mentioned key symbols are reproduced in the Russian version, and so is the semantic capacity of the episode. However, the symbol of the death is never repeated in translation, which “turns down” the emphatic tone of the SL text: «...Четыре месяца искал Исидор солнце на чёрном, словно черкесская бурка, небе. И лишь на пятом месяце он увидел его...».

Another episode which helps to understand the author’s viewpoint deals with Avto’s letter applying to his childhood friend, Abo. The very dynamic and expressive passage seasoned with lively impressions could be described as a scenic episode. The “address type” passage determines the personage’s speech, which is focused on the self-observation, self-understanding, and self-assertiveness. Avto’s speech is particularly subjective and emotional. Conventionally, N. Dumbadze employs repetitions to suggest the anxiety and tension experienced by his characters. Hyperbolized images are also characteristic to his style, along

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with the gradual emotional ranging. Emotions are transparent in the speech of a person, who goes through the same history anew. Therefore, the narrative suggests the suppressed cry of a lonely man, a person who is looking for his mother, his childhood friend and himself. Gradually, Avto’s speech becomes intensified. His thoughts are extending from the personal to the general, more significant, common to the human. Consequently, in the second half of the monologue his anxiety of speech shows gradual decline and turns to a calmer tone (however, it hardly sounds absolutely calm).

The semantics of the passage is adequately reproduced in the Russian text, while the expressive background suffers transformation to a certain extent. Because of the omission of the repetitions, gradations and the other devices, the passage reads less anxious and comparatively balanced in the Russian translation. The passage skips the scenic livelihood and effectiveness. On the other part, the emphasis shift in the narration, from the personal and subjective to the general and objective, is less transparent and only through the comparative analysis with the Georgian text can the difference be revealed.

Tracing the directions of the author’s thoughts and peculiar devices for the reproduction of these directions in the TL, we analyzed several passages in the narrative, which are important for their semantics. We pointed out the peculiarities of the narration, as well as the role of several stylistic devices, employed with a view to reveal the author’s intentions. The writer, expressing his viewpoint in these episodes, employs symbols, which are conventionally given in their binary forms. In the symbolic binary images the priority is given to the positive opposite one. To cite G. Gverdtsitely, “the sun is a significant and beautiful image of the light, kindness, love and of everything that is lucid and elevated, and that permanently is employed in the belles-lettres.” (1986: 18) N. Dumadze expresses his moral credo, which, despite some deviations, is reflected in the other language. As mentioned, the author’s viewpoint in the narration is almost always subjective. Therefore, the mentioned fictional elements are always emotionally charged. The most important parameter of the narrative, the author’s subjective assessment, is reproduced in the translated version. In the above-analyzed sample episodes, the writer’s viewpoint was expressed mainly in symbols. Developing the topic, we can single out the episodes, where the author’s assessment is based on other stylistic devices, such as comparison or metaphor.

The description of the character’s approach to the developments in the narrative, to the environment and the society stands as one of the

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assessment criteria, frequently applied by N. Dumbadze. The author unfolds his own approach to the universal moral categories–evil and kind, conscience and duty, suffering and catharsis to assess the characters of the novel. Both tragedy and comedy, joy and suffering are intertwined in Dumbadze’s literary works; they represent two poles, while a person should pass in between for his rehabilitation and catharsis. The author tests his characters through the situations which they encounter. He has his characters undergo dramatic situations to test how those effect them. For instance, the episode of killing a she-bear by the border-guards makes Sherbina cry, however, the interaction which follows shows the contradicting attitudes of the others:

“ « - Счастье наше, что всё кончилось благополучно! - раздался за нами чей-то весёлый голос. - Вот именно! - подтвердил другой. Я нагнул голову. По голосам я их не узнал, а видеть этих «счастливых людей» мне не хотелось...» “

Patriotism, viewed through different angles in the novel, is conditioned by the characters’ perspective on life itself. The author expresses his own understanding of patriotism through the character’s voice. The borders of the concept of “homeland” are much wider than the existing political borders. The novel puts an emphasis not only on the homeland, confined to the borderline wire, but also that part of the homeland beyond the frontiers of the new borderlines. The author depicts the tragedy of the historical developments in Georgia with a specific device, which can be compared with the Chekhovian formula: “when you want to gain the compassion of a reader, don’t try to seem colder than you are– this makes a background of the others’ suffering, which stands out prominently.” (Berdnikov 1982: 140)

Depicting the borderline and the history of the village, the author employs various colours, often contrasting, with the intention to reach the necessary effect: “The borderline extends to some parallels and to some meridians. As a result one brother lives on the one side of the border, while the other lives on the other side of it”. Beyond these mere statistical data, the tragedy of the separated family and suffering of the innocent souls is transparent. A man conceded to the force, which, by some need made brothers look at each other from different sides of the border.

The common tragedy – a fire on the borderline – united them. “In this hard moment the distance, separating people, as though vanished…The great human peril united us.” The people in the two villages know the bitterness of separation with the dearest ones. They avoid verbosity to

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describe their sorrow, they just keep their pains and memories in their hearts. The homeland for them does not mean the slogans of the politicians, - but it means split of the families. They keep the idea of the homeland in the heart along with the pain of separation. Depicting this, the writer makes use of a metaphor, which disappears in the Russian version, omitting not only the metaphor, but also the author’s intention and the idea of the metaphor.

«Наша деревня в этот день была похожа на озабоченного родителя, который утешил больную замужнюю дочь и, исполнив долг, возвращался домой».

“Our village resembled a worried mother, who soothed her married daughter who fell ill, and she performed her duty, was returning home”.

The phrase should have been reproduced in the translation, since it is not only the viewpoint of the border guard Jakeli, but it also bears the author’s viewpoint. Moreover, if the author was in the role of a narrating character prior to the use of this metaphor, the final phrase definitely belongs to the author, a person, whose life experience made him wiser, and who knows well about the historic destiny of his homeland. Therefore, the reader “hears” a polyphony of the overlapping voices in the original text as different from the preceding examples, which makes the author’s speech prominent. Its omission in the Russian translation makes the narration sound a character’s speech-only, losing the author’s summarizing part.

Analyzing the peculiarities of the narration, we aimed to single out the author’s voice in the general stream of the voices, as a form directly expressing the author’s viewpoint as well as the peculiarities of the character’s voice, expressing the author’s ideas in a coded form, following the author’s intention. Despite some semantic and stylistic lapses, the translation gives the reader a full picture of the author’s aesthetic standpoint, and of the peculiarities of his creative thinking. References Berdnikov T. (1982). “Social and Common Human in Creative Works by

Chekhov”, in Literary Matters, 1 Vinogradov V. (1971). About Theory of Narrative, Moscow Gverdtsiteli G. (1986). Sunny Heart. Introduction to the volume of the selected

stories by N. Dumbadze, Tbilisi Eligulashvili E. (1972). The Sunny Day of N. Dumbadze, Moscow

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Daniela LINGURARU The Unparalleled Adventure of One Charles Baudelaire: A Portrait of the Poet as Translator of Poe’s Fiction

„Stefan cel Mare” University of Suceava, ROMANIA

Baudelaire’s first reference to Poe in a letter to an unidentified addressee, dated October 15th 1851, has become one of the basic texts in the history of modern literature, acknowledging a kind of unique (be it one-sided) affinity between two authors of different language and nationality who did not even know each other: “In 1846 or 1847 I became acquainted with certain fragments by Edgar Poe. I felt a singular excitement. Since his complete works were not collected in one volume until after his death, I took the trouble of looking up Americans who were living in Paris so that I might borrow files of the magazines which Poe had edited. And then – believe me or not as you like – I found poems and stories which I had thought about, but in a confused, vague and disordered way, and which Poe had been able to treat perfectly.” The French poet’s first encounter with some versions of Poe’s tales that were available in France was definitely the start of an extraordinary story of devotion of one great writer to another, as it triggered in Baudelaire an unbelievable urge to restore Poe’s literary reputation. This Herculean enterprise kept him busy for about sixteen years of hard work (a heroic accomplishment for a man of Baudelaire’s temperament) and its outcome is regarded as a huge service rendered to French literature, not to mention the fact that Baudelaire himself refers to his five volumes of Poe he translated into French as his most important achievement.

Although Poe’s “ominous” Black Cat stirred him in quite an unexpected way in 1846, it was not until 1852 that Baudelaire showed the first results of his discovery of Poe, namely when he published an essay (Edgar Poe, sa vie et ses ouvrages) and translations of four of his tales (only

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Mesmeric Revelation had been published before, in July 1848, in La liberté de penser). Fascinated by the American writer whom he considered his literary Messiah, he then decided to devote most of his creative energies to translating Poe’s fiction, much to the surprise of his contemporaries. For Baudelaire, Poe was before anything else a Poet, but even if he translated The Haunted Palace, The Conqueror Worm, To My Mother and The Raven, he often called his poems “intraduisibles”, thus justifying his choice for the prose. He published his first volume of short stories in French in 1856 (Histoires extarordinaires, edited by Michel Lévy), after a long series of tormenting events which did not, however, stop him from producing others: Nouvelles Histoires Extraordinaires (1857), Les Aventures d’A. G. Pym and Eureka (1858), Histoires grotesques et sérieuses (1865).

There was much confusion surrounding the first versions of Poe’s works into French, but there is no doubt that Baudelaire was not the first, nor the last of Poe’s translators. He had about five predecessors, and he continued to have lots of successors in translating Poe’s fiction into French (Emile Hennequin, W. L. Hughes, Mallarmé, etc. – a total of 34 editions only by the end of the 19th century). Nevertheless, his translation remains a sort of standard, ideal version, unparalleled so far by any other and probably impossible to outrank. It has even been said that the stories, as Baudelaire tells them, are literature, whereas Poe’s only aspire to be, that they are not translations properly speaking, but re-creations, „not transcripts but originals.” (Quinn 1957:109)

Needless to say, Baudelaire did not arrive at perfection at his first attempt, but his translations were spoken of in high terms on every occasion (even in the preface to his first poetry volume, Les Fleurs du mal, Théophile Gautier mentions his merit in transposing Poe into French). A supreme example of translation from English into French, Baudelaire version of Poe’s stories seems to contradict the theory according to which the original work of art has the greatest potential for change (being more versatile and more „open”), while its versions in other languages remain forever, paradoxically, framed within a certain space and period of time (being static, therefore, „closed”); what we are dealing with, in this case, is a version which defeats time and will never be obsolete, a genuine „grande traduction” (to use Antoine Berman’s words).

The general conviction, very difficult to discard, is that Poe translated by Baudelaire is very much „improved”, but whereas „improving” in translation has acquired in time some negative connotations, here it is considered a matter of excellence. While translating, Baudelaire got rid of many shortcomings (when he did not add some of his

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own, for example misreading some semantic features or overlooking important overtones).

Baudelaire’s attitude toward Poe’s fictional text (which he considered „sacred”) is one full of respect and reverence, transparent on a microtextual, as well as macrotextual level. Whether it is a title, the general layout of the text or the punctuation, Baudelaire’s choices always correspond to the original. Thus, when it comes to titles, all of them (with two notable exceptions: (The Gold Bug – Le scarabée d’or, and The Imp of the preverse – Le démon de la perversité) are faithful duplicates of the original titles. A comparative study of Poe’s text and Baudelaire’s translation discloses an amazing accuracy of the French text, a meticulous transcription of the sentences, the best fusion of meaning and form ever thought possible in an apparently literal translation. But literality with Baudelaire is indeed only apparent; there is correspondence at every level, sometimes even the number of words is equal, however, the translation can hardly be called literal unless we reinvent the meaning of mot-à-mot. Besides, Baudelaire himself accounts for his choice of strategy: „Il faut surtout bien suivre le texte littéral. Certianes choses seraient devenues bien autrement obscures, si j’avais voulu paraphraser mon auteur, au lieu de me tenir servilement à la lettre. J’ai préféré faire du français pénible et parfois baroque et donner dans toute sa vérité la technique philosophique d’Edgar Poe.” (La liberté de penser 1848) The uttermost respect for Poe, doubled by the fear of losing or spoiling some hidden catch (a fear that should be normal for someone who never became absolutely bi-lingual) prevented Baudelaire from taking his distance from Poe’s text.

Sometimes, the simplest of situations proves to be a trap for Baudelaire the perfectionist, especially when translating verbs or verbal tenses. Thus, in Berenice, „he pointed to my garments” becomes „il regarda mes vêtements” (emphasis mine); elsewhere, also in Berenice, Baudelaire mistakes device in: „To muse for long unwearied hours, with my attention riveted to some frivolous device on the margin, or in the typography of a book” by citation, which creates a whole different kind of expectations from the reader.

On the other hand, wherever Poe’s text offers a challenge from a syntactical point of view, meaning the (ab)use of various emphatic effects, Baudelaire succeeds in providing impeccable translations. The litote and the hyperbaton are extremely common in Poe’s fiction, and Baudelaire finds ingenious solutions for each of them.

e. g. The Red Death had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous.” (The Masque of the Red Death)

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La Mort Rouge avait pendant longtemps dépeuplé la contrée. Jamais peste ne fut si fatale, si horrible.” (Le masque de la Mort Rouge) (The adverb jamais is in charge of the emphatic effect, but using peste with zero article is also effective in this respect).

Although theoretically there are a lot of difficulties in transposing a text from English to French, Baudelaire’s translation contradicts all such theories. No matter how right Alain Chevrillon might be in saying that French is all about forms and lack of motion, whereas English transmits more easily the reflexivity and the „making”1, Baudelaire generally coins satisfactory (if not brilliant) ways of dealing with verbal tenses and aspects, even if the plus-que-parfait form j’avais traversé, for example, from the paragraph which opens The Fall of the House of Usher, is unable to convey the richness of the state created by „I had been passing through”): e. g. During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher. (The Fall of the House of Usher) Pendant toute une journée d’automne, journée fuligineuse, sombre et muette, où les nuages pesaient lourds et bas dans le ciel, j’avais traversé seul et à cheval une étendue de pays singulièrement lugubre, et enfin, comme les ombres du soir approchaient, je me trouvai en vue de la mélancolique Maison Usher. (La chute de la Maison Usher)

The cliché according to which French has a propensity for nominalisation where English employs mainly verbal or adverbial phrases is but rarely confirmed by Baudelaire’s version:

e. g. And, some days of grief having elapsed, an observable change came over the features of the mental disorder of my friend. (The Fall of the House of Usher)

Et alors, après un laps de quelques jours pleins du chagrin le plus amer, il s’opéra un changement visible dans les symptômes de la maladie morale de mon ami.” (La chute de la Maison Usher) (keeping the root “laps-“ saves both the meaning and the form).

From a semantic point of view, Baudelaire follows, as much as the peculiariaties of the French languages allows him, Poe’s text, both in terms of the register and in terms of expressivity. Nevertheless, sometimes, in order to clarify some aspects (or for lack of a suitable word), he overcharges (e. g. using prostituées for women of the town) or, on the contrary, leaves out some semantic features. When faced with an expression like to out-Herod Herod, Baudelaire resorts to a paraphrase, as he fails to find a similar

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antonomasic structure in French (The Masque of the Red Death: „... but the figure in question had out-Heroded Herod”; Le masque de la Mort Rouge: „... mais le personnage en question avait dépassé l’extravagance d’un Hérode”).

The verbs expressing affirmation by means of double negation are not turned to the best account by Baudelaire, who prefers in this case simplicity to stylistic effects (The Pit and the Pendulum: “At length, with a wild desperation at heart, I quickly unclosed my eyes”; Le puits et le pendule: „A la longue, avec une folle angoisse de coeur, j’ouvris vivement les yeux”). On the otherhand, he is very alert when it comes to rendering polyptotons or cognate objects: e. g. ... and I laughed with a long and bitter laugh as I found no traces of the first in the channel where I laid the second. (Morella) ... et je ris d’un amer et long rire, quand, dans le caveau où je déposai la seconde, je ne découvris aucune trace de la première.

Largely speaking, an analysis of Baudelaire’s versions of Poe’s short stories shows a consummate master of translation, whose rigour and talent have never ceased to be praised (in Encyclopaedia Britannica he is called “one of the most accurate and brilliant translators in literature”) (1907:842). Baudelaire’s true skills as a translator are obvious especially there where he seems quasi-literal: e. g.

“But indeed, the time had now arrived when the mystery of my wife’s manner oppressed me as a spell.” (Morella)

„Mais, en vérité, le temps était maintenant arrivé où le mystère de la nature de ma femme m’oppressait comme un charme.”

Yves Le Dantec (in Quinn, 1971), one of Baudelaire’s editors, studied

very carefully the way the poet approaches the text to be translated, and came to the conclusion that his procedure follows three major steps: a literal translation (sometimes quite feeble), which is brushed up and imbued with a touch of sensitivity, and the final result is exquisitely transposed onto his own keyboard. But “literal translation” is an unfair tag for Baudelaire, even when taking into account considering his self-imposed standards of “loyalty” to the original text. Although he is ‘guilty” of such “tendances déformantes” (Antoine Berman) as clarification, embelishment or occasional paraphrasing, we can safely accept the idea that Baudelaire’s

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Poe is the Americans’ Poe, and that his translation is a translation ad textum (in Round) (i. e. fully recreative). Notes 1. „Le français traduit surtout des formes, états arrêtés, les coupures imposées par l’analyse. L’anglais peut rendre bien plus facilement ce que M. Bergson appelle du se faisant”. (A. Chevrillon) Corpus Allan Poe, E. (2000/1993). Tales of Mystery and Imagination, Wordsworth,

Heartfordshire, Poe, E. (1856). Histoires extraordinaires, Michel Lévy, Paris (transl. Charles

Baudelaire) Poe, E. (1857). Nouvelles histoires extraordinaires, Michel Lévy, Paris, (transl. Charles

Baudelaire) Poe, E. (1865). Histoires grotesques et sérieuses, Michel Lévy, Paris (trasl. Charles

Baudelaire) References Cambiaire, C. P. (1927). The Influence of Edgar Allan Poe in France, G. E. Stechert,

New York Leviţchi, L. (2001/1994). Limba engleză - Manualul traducătorului, Teora, Bucureşti Quinn, P. F. (1971/1957). The French Face of Edgar Poe, Southern Illinois University

Press Round, N. Translation and its Metaphors: the (N+1) wise men and the elephant,

http://www.pulib.sk/skase/Volumes/JTI01/doc_pdf/05.pdf ***(1848). La liberté de penser ***(1907). The New Americanized Encyclopaedia Britannica in 15 volumes, the Saalfield

Publ. Co., Chicago, vol. 2

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Nadia Nicoleta MORĂRAŞU Translating Allusive Names and Quotations from George Eliot

University of Bacău, ROMANIA

I. Intertextuality: types and techniques The elements contributing to the intertextual network of a literary text are the relation to the genre the novel is placed in, the texts the novel sets up as its models, the texts alluded to and quoted in it and its place in its author’s production (Collins, 1989).

In the attempt at approaching the relations between texts, David Cowart (1993) speaks of symbiosis as a mutually beneficial relationship in which texts are enriched by reworking and incorporating other texts. These relations included in Cowart’s ‘symbiotic spectrum’ (1993: 6) are similar to those listed by Genette (1992)1:

translations between languages and from one genre or medium to another;

symbiotic texts’ and other texts extensively reworking previous texts (groups including similar texts as Genette’s hypertextuality, but classified according to different criteria);

allusive texts; ‘ordinary intertextuality’ (ibid.); ‘self-begotten texts’.

Bazerman (2006) sums up the techniques of intertextual representation:

direct quotation, “identified by quotation marks, block indentation, italics and other indentation markings” (Bazerman, 2006: 87);

indirect quotation = "usually specifies a source and then attempts to reproduce the meaning of the original but in words that reflect the author's understanding, interpretation, or spin on the original";

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mentioning of a person, document, or statements, which "relies on the reader's familiarity with the original source and what it says";

comment or evaluation on a statement, text, or otherwise invoked voice = direct commentary rather than linguistic implication (as in indirect quotation);

using recognizable phrasing, terminology associated with specific people or groups of people or particular documents (key-phrase allusions);

using language and forms that seem to echo certain ways of communicating, discussions among other people, types of documents = "genre, kinds of vocabulary (or register), stock phrases, patterns of expression".

Though Eliot’s novels tend to have allusive titles, literary epigraphs and chapter headings, this feature may be regarded as purely ornamental, unless these elements function as a complex intertextual system.

II. Potential translation strategies for allusions Allusion has been considered as one of the types of intertextuality, along with plagiarism and quotation (Genette, 1992: 8). A solid definition of allusion must get beyond the notion of special reference and in order to do this, we may start from the definition proposed by Ben-Porat (1976: 107): “allusion is a device for the simultaneous activation of two texts.” This means that, when we read the “alluding text”, something in it evokes another text, connotations of which we then bring to bear on the alluding text. At this point, a summative definition of allusion would be that of a device used to bring in other texts to a literary text, by activating connotations of those other texts, which may range from history to literature and from popular culture to proverbs2.

The main classification of allusions relies upon three basic functions of allusions: humour (including irony and parody), characterization (including interpersonal relationships) and thematic (Leppihalme, 1997a:37). While thematic allusions introduce or strengthen themes in the texts, allusions with characterizing functions may tell us about the characters or events to which they are applied. However, we shall further on adopt Leppihalme’s distinction between character-delineating allusions (the ones with a name in it) and phrase allusions (the ones without a name, consisting of quotations).

If we accept the transculturality of proper-name allusions, we see them as stylistic means of transgressing linguistic and cultural barriers. Starting from the idea that there can be an identity relationship between “evoked” and “allusive” words (Ben-Porat, 1976), we cannot ignore the

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allusive potential of the names of characters, as they are activated in the texts by the receivers of the message3.

Translation strategies can be regarded as ways to solve problems caused by allusions. A possible approach is the one proposed by Leppihalme (1997a), who distinguishes three basic strategies: retention, change and omission. She suggests that translators tend to turn to strategies of minimum change, that is, they make the conventionally required changes (if any) and translate as literally as possible. Her list of strategies for translating proper-name allusions includes:

a) retention of the name as such; b) retention of the name with some additional guidance; c) retention of the name with detailed explanations (footnotes,

etc.); d) replacement of the name with another source-language name; e) replacement of the name with a target-language name; f) omission of the name, but the sense conveyed through a

common noun; g) complete omission of the name and allusion.

Discussions of allusions used for characterisation should be based on a selection of representative and interesting examples, intended to bring into light the scope of the allusions used and illustrate various strategies used. Allusions may serve as a device in characterization in a number of ways. Characters may be compared to familiar historical or literary figures. The allusions characters use frequently give clues to their reading habits and other cultural preferences.

In Eliot, mythical and Romance allusions cut across the main stories of Daniel Deronda and Middlemarch. In Daniel Deronda, Gwendolen Harleth is repeatedly represented by mythical images suggesting an unworldly power. She is labelled as sylph (“the sylph was a winner – p.5), Nereid (“the Nereid in sea-green robes and silver ornaments, with a pale sea-green feather fastened in silver falling backward over her green hat and light brown hair” - p.7), Lamia (“it is a sort of Lamia beauty she has” – p.8), serpent and Calypso (“Gwendolen seemed a Calypso among her nymphs. It was in her attitudes and movements that everyone was obliged to admit her surpassing charm” – p.82) – all female figures who enslave men.

At the same time, Gwendolen pictures herself as “a tolerable Saint Cecilia with some white roses on my head”. Each of these names may be retained in translation, either with some additional guidance or with detailed explanation. Some editors consider such references as indispensable to English readers; they are even more effective for the ones who read the text in translation. In her relationship with Grandcourt, he is defined as “not an impassioned lyrical Daphnis for the wood-nymph,

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certainly: but so much the better (ch.14, p.118). Sir Hugo Mallinger thinks that Deronda as a ‘kind of Lovelace” who will make the Clarissas run after you instead of your running for them.” (p.298) Though labelled as a tasteless joke, this analogy needs to be explained to the Romanian reader who might not be acquainted wih Richardson’s Pamela.

The intertextual dimension of Middlemarch gives us an indication of the universal character of the writer’s readings. Thus, kings’s names (Henry of Navarre, Alfred the Great, King James, George III) are not more relevant than those of politicians (Chatterton, Churchill, Cromwell, etc.) or the typical “political cheap Jack.” The intellectual community of Middlemarch brings to our attention some scientific models, of which Vesalius, Galen (anatomists), Bichat, Lancet, Louis, Lavoisier (French chemist), Brussais (French doctor), Sir William Herschel (English astronomer), Sir Thomas Brown (English philosopher, poet and doctor), Cartwright (British inventor), Richard Parson (English professor, well-known specialist in Greek studies) and Adam Smith (Scottish philosopher and economist) are the most prominent ones.

Another interesting series is provided by the thematic combination of religious names: biblical characters (Adam and Eve, Sara, Dorcas, Lazarus, daughters of Zion as a term applied to the Jewish people, Nimrod), hagiographic reference (the life of Saint Theresa, Saint John, Saint Thomas Aquinas), contemporary allusions to clergymen of different confessions and authors of devotional works (Augustine – a vigorous advocate of Roman Catholicism, Athanasius – the patriarch of Alexandria, Jeremy Taylor - Anglican bishop, Samuel Wilberforce – English Anglican prelate and educator, who helped perpetuate the Oxford movement, Latimer – English preacher accused of heresy and burnt alive, Flavell – the methodist preacher, Bossuet and Oberlin – two French clergymen, along with Klopstock, indicated as the author of Mesiah).

The last category makes the passage towards classical writers (Aristotle and Virgil, Dante and Petrach, Racine), whose works are treasured to the same extent as the ones of distinguished English poets (Wordsworth, Southey, Byron, a kind of Shelley, the poet Edward Young Alexander Pope), novelists (Fielding, Smollet, Walter Scott) and playwrights (Shakespeare, Marlowe).

The allusions brought into discussion are treated, in translation, depending on their universal character and their degree of recognizability. The retention of the name as such is mainly applicable to names of historical characters and real persons. Some of them need additional guidance or detailed explanations as they are less-known not only to foreign readers, but also to natives. The replacement of the name with a

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target-language name is functional in the case of religious and mythological names. III. Translation of quotations and epigraphs Quotations from eminent poets, philosophers and historians such as Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Pascal, etc. function as intertextual elements when used as explicit references or allusions to a passage or element from another, usually well-known work.

Quotations and epigraphs are typically recognizable to some segment of readers and translators, as assumed competent readers of the texts they translate, are expected to be familiar with the sources, in order to translate them properly.

In analyzing the epigraphs from Midlemarch (each chapter begins with an epigraph), we may attempt at discovering Eliot’s purpose for including quotations from Shakespeare, Donne, Milton, Dante, Chaucer, and others in her text: they are not simply a means of referring to the themes of the literary work, but a means of facilitating the reader’s general comprehension of the chapters.

Higdon (1970) identifies four ways in which her epigraphs function: 1. allusions to classic texts which structure the chapter; 2. metaphors which evaluate the characters within the chapter; 3. abstractions, such as aphorisms, which the chapter then makes

concrete; 4. ironic refractions, that is, as ironic commentary of the content of the

chapter. In this light, the main differences between the strategies that writers

employ with allusions and the ones used for quotations and epigraphs arise from the fact that the latter often appear in their source-language forms (Lepihalme, 1997a:83).

The list of potential strategies for key-phrase allusions is applicable to quotations:

a) use of a standard translation; b) minimum change/ literal translation; c) addition of extra-allusive guidance (including typographical

means); d) footnotes, endnotes, forewords and other additional

explanations outside the text itself; e) simulated familiarity, internal marking (marked wording or

syntax); f) replacement by preformed target-language item;

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g) reduction to sense (making the connotations overt but dispensing with the alluding words);

h) re-creation using a variety of techniques; i) omission (Leppihalme, 1997a: 84).

With Middlemarch, the only published version in Romanian belongs to Eugen B. Marian who carefully preserved the literary form (poem, essay etc.) and patterns of all English epigraphs. We particularly appreciate the equivalent allegorical names found for the characters in Pilgrim’s Progress:

Then went the jury out whose names were Mr. Blind-man, Mr. No-good, Mr. Malice, Mr. Love-lust, Mr. Live-loose, Mr.Heady, Mr. High-mind, Mr. Enmity, Mr. Liar, Mr. Cruelty, Mr.Hate-light, Mr. Implacable …(Ch.85) Apoi ieşiră juraţii, ale căror nume sunau astfel: domnul Orbete, domnul Netrebnic, domnul Siretenie, domnul Patimă, domnul Deşuchiatu, domnul Turbatu, domnul Mintosu, domnul Vrăjmăşie, domnul Mincinosu, domnul Cruzime, domnul Beznă şi domnul Necruţător… However, Marian applied a differential treatment to epigraphs in

other languages. For example, the translations of the texts excerpted from French authors are rendered as footnotes. Most of them are accurate enough, but there are also cases when parts of the original texts are left untranslated:

‘Nous causâmes longtemps; elle était simple et bonne. Ne sachant pas le mal, elle faisait le bien; Des richesses du coeur elle me fit l’aumône, Et tout en écoutent comme le coeur se donne, Sans oser y penser je lui donnai le mien; Elle emporta ma vie, et n’en sut jamais rien.’ (Alfred de Musset, Ch.22) Tăifăsuirăm mult; suflet bun, plin de har Răul necunoscând, binele-a semănat; Din sufleteşti comori mi-a dat milostiv dar Făr’ să cutez gândi, pe-a mea i-am închinat; Mi-a luat viaţa cu ea, şi-n veci nici n-a aflat.

If the translated epigraph from Dante’s La vita nuova (Ch. 54) appears

with no mentioning of who the translator is, the one from Goethe (Ch. 81) is attributed to Lucian Blaga. The use of a standard translation is obviously a choice only if one exists and it may occasionally be identical with the minimum change translation.

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IV. Conclusion As the majority of allusions we have identified are proper-name

allusions, the minimum strategy for them is retaining them in the form in which they appear in the source text. Moreover, what the translator needs to take into consideration when translating epigraphs from Eliot’s novels is that they function as a complex system between texts, authors and readers, which the author masterfully uses to control the reading of the text. The question whether a translator may omit elements he/she perceives as too difficult to translate is culture-bound and depends on translation norms in the target culture. Notes 1 Genette’s terms are: ‘transtextuality’ which covers all those cases in which a text is present in another text: metatexts, paratexts (such as titles, epigraphs, author’s statements about the text, advertisements); ‘architextuality’ refers to a text’s relation to its genre; ‘hypertextuality’ has in view relations between a text and another text that extensively reworks it; ‘intertextuality’ comprises allusions, quotations and plagiarism (Genette, 1992:7-13) 2 http://ethesis.helsinki.fi/julkaisut/hum/engla/pg/salo-oja/lostintr.pdf., “Lost in translation? Translating allusions in two of Reginald Hill’s Dalziel & Pascoe novels”, Mari Salo-oja Master’s Thesis, Department of English, University of Helsinki, April 2004. 3 The reception of allusions is facilitated by the inclusion of characters into specialized dictionaries, of which, Oxford Dictionary of Allusions (2001), is one of the most reliable sources of thematic approach to characters. The association of names of mythological, religious and fictional characters and of historical personalities with one or more themes (hypocrisy, poverty, courage, revenge etc.) is followed by an allusion to or by an analogy established with another character from some modern or contemporary literary piece. References Bazerman, C. (2006). ‘Analysing the multidimensionality of texts in education’, in

Handbook of Complementary Methods in Education Research, edited by Green, Judith, Gregory Camilli, Patricia B. Elmore, Routledge, 77-94

Ben-Porat, Z. (1976). ‘The poetics of literary allusion’, PTL PTL: A Journal for Descriptive Poetics and Theory of Literature 1, 105-28

Collins, J. (1989). Uncommon Cultures: Popular culture and post-modernism, New York and London: Routledge

Cowart, D. (1993). Literary Symbiosis: The reconfigured text in twentieth-century writing, Athens, GA, and London: The University of Georgia Press

Eliot, G. (2003). Daniel Deronda, Wordsworth Editions Ltd

http://ethesis.helsinki.fi/julkaisut/hum/engla/pg/salo-oja/lostintr.pdf

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Eliot, G. (1994). Middlemarch. A Study of Provincial Life, Wordsworth Editions Ltd Higdon, D. L. (1970). ‘George Eliot and the Art of the Epigraph’ Nineteenth Century

Fiction 25, 127-151 Eliot, G. (1977). Middlemarch, traducator Eugen B Marian, Editura Minerva,

Bucuresti, 4 volume Eliot, G. (2000). Middlemarch, traducator Eugen B Marian, Editura RAO Genette, G. (1992). The Architext: An Introduction, trans. Jane E. Lewin; Berkeley and

Oxford: University of California Press Leppihalme, R. (1997a). Culture Bumps: An empirical approach to the translation of

allusions, Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Morăraşu N. (2007). The Shaping of Narrative Identity through the Act of Naming,

Editura PIM, Iaşi Pasco, A. H. (1994). Allusion: A literary graft, Toronto: University of Toronto Press http://endora.wide.msu.edu/3.1/coverweb/ipc/epicite.htm. http://ethesis.helsinki.fi/julkaisut/hum/engla/pg/salo-oja/lostintr.pdf., ‘Lost in

translation? Translating allusions in two of Reginald Hill’s Dalziel & Pascoe novels’, Mari Salo-oja Master’s Thesis, Department of English, University of Helsinki, April 2004.

http://www.answers.com/topic/epigraph.

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Monica NĂSTASI The Cultural Context in Communication and Translation

„Dunărea de Jos”University of Galaţi, ROMANIA

1. High Context Communication and Low Context Communication Cultures Bronislaw Malinowski (1938:305) discussed the meaning of language in terms of a wider context of culture. He first introduced the terms “context of situation” and “context of culture” observing that a language could only have meaning when these two contexts were implicitly or explicitly clear to the interlocutors. He noted that: “(…) language is essentially rooted in the reality of the culture (…) it cannot be explained without constant reference to these broader contexts of verbal utterance” (qtd. in Katan 2004:99).

Lyons states that Malinowski was much more interested in the role of language in producing meaning than his contemporary linguists: “There have been times in the recent past, notably in America in the period between 1930 and the end of the 1950s, when linguistic semantics, the study of meaning in language was very largely neglected.” (qtd. in Katan 2004:100)

According to Malinowski, the word “meaning” in the sense of what the interlocutor understands is part of the informal culture. Semantic meaning may be part of the formal culture and, therefore, considered to be worthy of study.

Nancy Bonvillain (2003:1) distinguished three kinds of meanings: situational, social and cultural. As regards the situational meanings, she asserts that they are “conveyed through forms of language that occur or are excluded in various contexts”. Thus, she offers an example: in formal occasions, people pronounce sounds clearly and avoid slang.

Her stand as concerns the social meanings is that they are “signalled by linguistic alternatives chosen by different groups of people within a community.” For instance, men and women may utter certain sounds in different ways; workers may use special terminology and jargon. As

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regards the cultural meanings, Bonvillain states that they are conveyed both in the symbolic sense of words and by the ways that interlocutors evaluate communicative behaviour.

The term ‘contexting’ was introduced by Hall in 1976. As regards this concept, Hall launches a hypothesis according to which individuals, groups and cultures have various priorities with reference to how much information needs to be made explicit for a successful communication (Katan 2004:245).

Like Malinowski, Halliday (Halliday and Hassan 1989:47) discusses the issues of context of situation and control of culture. It is the context of situation that is thoroughly explained because “(…) in describing the context of situation, it is helpful to build in some indication of the cultural background and the assumptions that have to be made if the text is to be interpreted – or produced – in the way…the system intends.”

The words ‘text’ and ‘context’ are open to a number of different meanings. As regards the context, Hall describes it as “stored information” which is very close to Halliday’s (Halliday and Hasan 1989:47) “non-verbal environment of a text” which consists of “the context of situation and the wider context of culture.” Hall (1983:61) also states that, in terms of communication, the text is “transmitted information”, while the context is “the amount of information the other person can be expected to possess on a given subject.” As a result of these considerations, Hall and Halliday agree that communication requires both text and context.

Halliday sustains that the context of situation is “the total environment in which a text unfolds.” (Halliday and Hasan 1989:36) He also mentions that: “In the normal course of life, all day and every day, when we are interacting with others through language...we are making inferences from the situation to the text and from the text to the situation.” (Katan 2004:245)

It is obvious that, in any communication, the speaker and the listener’s perception of the context differ. Sperber and Wilson also view ‘context’ in terms of perception rather than reality and emphasize that it is “a psychological construct, a subset of the hearer’s assumptions about the world. It is these assumptions, of course, rather than the actual state of the wor1d, that affect the interpretation of an utterance.” (Katan 2004:246)

When people from different societies or in the same society are exchanging information with one another, they are sending messages about their cultural identity. They may have problems in understanding one another due to the fact that assumptions about the world differ.

In Hall’s opinion (qtd. in Katan 2004:247), there are two aspects to communication (text and context). According to his diagram, each of these two aspects is represented by a triangle. In the ‘text’ triangle, all the

information that is to be conveyed is made visible or explicit, while in the ‘context’ triangle no text is necessary as all the information is implicit. Hall’s diagram indicates the fact that both triangles operate together in order to form the message.

M E S S A G E

Text

Context

M E S S A G E

0%

100% 0%

100%

Culture A HCC High context Low text

Culture C LCC Low context High text

Then, he points out that contexting is a fundamental aspect of culture

and members of a culture will be oriented either towards communication through the text or the context. However, orientations may change according to the situation.

In Hall’s view, the High Context Communication orientation (HCC) is related to a preference for the context and the Low Context Communication orientation (LCC) is related to a preference for the text.

George Simons (Katan 2004:247) also relates this opposition to two principle types of culture: ‘loosely knit’ and ‘tightly woven’. The metaphors “loosely knit” refer to the way a loosely knit fabric can adapt, being stretched without damage. On the other hand, the metaphors “tightly wo-ven” make reference to a solid fabric and more resistant to change. The following examples clearly indicate people’s orientation either towards structure or flexibility.

The piece of written information which is available for a foreign visitor will indicate how high or low context a culture is. In New York, there are a lot of signs which indicate the exact time and angle from which a photograph could be taken. In Cairo there is no information about pyramids - guides will provide all the information the tourists need to know.

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During the “Freshers” Week, the American and British universities try to do their best to formally and technically explain and entertain the new comers. In Italy, the students are informed through the grapevine. Therefore, the explaining and the entertaining are not planned and more informal.

There are universities, in higher context communication cultures, which do not use bulletin boards or other means of information. Therefore, students are supposed to know through informal methods if any changes have been made concerning their timetable. 2. The Context and the Brain Hall (qtd. in Katan 2004:257) mentions that the HCC and LCC distinctions relate to the brain’s left and right hemispheres. The left cerebral hemisphere is centered on the ‘text’, i.e. language production facts and logic.

On the other hand, the right hemisphere is centered on relationships and it is also involved in language production. Its influence is not on the text itself but on the frame of interpretation. Therefore, the two hemi-spheres work together in order to create meaning and, as Hall mentions, “there is continuous competition between the two hemispheres for the level of control.” (Stein: 1988:133)

According to Pease and Pease (Katan 2004:258), a woman has more right brain activity than a man does. They also mentioned that a men’s speech is located in the left hemisphere whereas women have a lot of locations for speech.

In his book, Maps of the Mind, (qtd. in Katan 2004:258), Charles Hampden - Turner adds the following words:

“By the same token it would be an error to conceive of the two hemispheres as containing homunculi, i.e. little musicians dancing in the right, mathematicians wrangling in the left. Rather, both hemispheres show some activity almost all the time. They merely process information differently and in varying levels of intensive intensity.” (qtd. in Katan 2004:258)

He also suggests that “the hemispheres are much less differentiated in childhood than in later life.” He also thinks that that eventual dominance will depend on the support of the children’s parents. This seems to be the basis of how cultures have developed. 3. The Cultural Context in Translation

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The 1980s mark an important stage in the development of translation studies as a separate discipline extending beyond linguistics and literary criticism and delving into cross-cultural communication.

Whatever the perspectives, the approaches to translation studies are, in this decade, different from the earlier ones. Thus, the translation theorists belonging to this decade (Vermeer 1989, Lefevere 1982, Frawley 1984, Lewis 1985, Berman 1985, Blum-Kulka 1986) agree that translation is an independent form of writing, distinct from the source text (ST) and from other texts written in the target language culture (TLC). The target orientation is marked by the “skopos” theory (Vermeer 1989) and the concept of equivalence is no longer very widely debated.

Thus, besides his use of the term “skopos” as the aim or purpose of translation to produce target texts as a result of negotiation, his opinion is worth mentioning about translation as intercultural communication, the translator being a mediator of intercultural communication. He considers that the ST is oriented towards the SLC (source language culture), and the target text (TT) is oriented towards the TLC.

Moreover, in his opinion the ST and the TT “may diverge from each other quite considerably, not only in the formulation and distribution of the content but also as regards the goals which are set for each, and in terms of which the arrangement of the content is in fact determined.” (qtd. in Venuti 2000:223)

His “skopos” theory is based on the function of the TT in the target culture (TC). That must be the same as that of the ST in the SLC. At the same time, the earlier theorists’ideas about the “faithfulness” to the original is now discussed by Vermeer in terms of the effect of the TT in the TC.

It would be interesting to mention that one aspect of the “skopos” theory that has been misinterpreted is that a good translation with an adequate “skopos” does not imply the translator’s obligation to adapt to the customs and usage of the TC.

On the other hand, he assumes that translating a ST into the TLC depends only on the characteristics and the potential of the TLC. Thus, there may be situations when the discrepancies between the SLC and the TLC are so great that translation seems to be almost impossible. In such situations, the translation is either a text that will approximately render the ST with a lot of footnotes or end-notes, or an adaptation of the ST. Or, as Venuti says, TLC offer “a wide range of potential, including possible extension through the adoption of phenomena from other cultures.” (Venuti 2000:230)

As a matter of fact, according to Vermeer’s “skopos” theory, the translator may not always adapt to the TLC; he can also express SLC features by TLC means.

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Lance Hewson and Jacky Martin viewed the “Translation Operator’s” role as a “cultural operator”. Their aim was to “underline once again the [Translator Operator’s] social-cultural identity as being one of the many factors which account for translation being what it is.” (qtd. in Katan 2004:21)

Basil Hatim and Ian Mason sustain the same idea: “inevitably we feed our own beliefs, knowledge, attitudes and so on into our processing of texts, so that any translation will, to some extent, reflect the translator’s own mental and cultural outlook, despite the best of impartial intentions.” (qtd. in Katan 2004: 21)

The concept of cultural mediator was introduced by George Steiner who believed that “the translator is a bilingual mediating agent between monolingual communication participants in two different language communities.” (qtd. in Katan 2004:16)

According to Ronald Taft, a cultural mediator is a “person who facilitates communication, understanding, and action between persons or groups who differ with respect to language and culture. The role of the mediator is performed by interpreting the expressions, intentions, perceptions, and expectations of each cultural group to the other, that is, by establishing and balancing the communication between them. In order to serve as a link in this sense, the mediator must be able to participate, to some extent, in both cultures. Thus, a mediator must be, to a certain extent, “bicultural” (qtd. in Katan 2004:17).

Lefevere (1982) considered translation as a process of relocating and rendering a SLT into a TLC, as a form of refraction, i.e. the adaptation of a literary work to a different audience, with the purpose of influencing the way in which the TRs read the work.

His contribution to literary theory, i.e. to a system approach to literature, cannot be ignored because in his opinion, translations were texts produced on the borderline between two systems, each system being implanted in the environment of a culture.

A very important factor functioning within the system is that of the language in which the literary work is written, i.e. grammar, vocabulary, pragmatics, the way in which the language functions with a view to reflecting culture. The basic idea is that different languages reflect different cultures. That is why in Lefevere’s opinion, the translator tries to “naturalize” a different culture, to make it conform to what the TRs are accustomed to. However, it is natural that “gaps” between the two cultural systems may arise, especially when the two cultures are very different. That is why the reception of the text into the TLC is not always favourable.

The cultural dimension of the context is so much more difficult to render that lexical items belonging to two different languages do not refer

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exactly to the same things. Thus, it is not realistic to assume that two words or expressions in two different languages, that are recorded in dictionaries as translations of each other, refer exactly to the same objects. In this respect, Venuti (2000:52) is right that “since languages are formed in different landscapes, through different experiences, their incongruity is natural” (i.e. prispă = porch, veranda; dor = longing, grief, sorrow; doină = melancholy Romanian folk song/poem; horă = hora, Romanian circle dance).

At this point of our discussion, Schleiermacher’s (qtd. in Venuti 2000:61) two strategies can be mentioned: “either the author is brought to the language of the reader, or the reader is carried to the language of the author”. In the former situation, the result is imitation, or a paraphrase of the ST. In the latter situation, there is actually translation since the reader is forced “from his linguistic habits and obliged to move within those of the author.” (ibidem)

To this, we should add that the translator has to force the reader to move within the linguistic and cultural habits of the author. Thus, the translator’s aim is to make the TR “feel” the atmosphere, “smell” the flavour and “see” the colour of the SLC.

According to Antoine Berman (1985), translation is “the trial of the foreign” from two perspectives. On one hand, “it establishes a relationship between the Self-Same (Propre) and the Foreign by aiming to open up the foreign work to us in its utter foreignness.” (Venuti 2000:284) On the other hand, “translation is a trial for the Foreign as well, since the foreign work is uprooted from its own language-ground (sol-de-langue).” He makes a thorough examination of “the system of textual deformation that operates in every translation and prevents it from being a ‘trial of the foreign’.” He calls this detailed analysis of the deforming system the “analytic of translation.” Berman considers that the “deforming forces” are impetuous only in the case of “ethnocentric, annexationist translations and hypertextual translations (pastiche, imitation, adaptation, free rewriting)”. He also states that only ‘cultivated’ languages translate.

Furthermore, he identifies some kind of deformations which may occur in the process of translation. One of these types of deformation is clarification. Clarification, in Berman’s opinion, is natural with translation as “every translation comprises some degree of explicitation.”

To conclude, a translation is communicative if the focus is on the contextual meaning of the original, so that both context and language can be easily understood by the reader. Equivalence in translation and absolute synonymy may never be achieved not even among words belonging to the same language.

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References Bantaş, A. (1991a). Dicţionar român-englez, Bucureşti: Ed. Mondero Bonvillain, N. (2003). Language, Culture, and Communication: The Meaning of

Messages, Fourth Edition, New Jersey 07458: Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River

Halliday, M. A.K. & Hasan, R. (1989). Language, Context and Text: Aspects of Language in a Social-Semiotic Perspective, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Katan, D. (2004). Translating Cultures: An Introduction for Translators, Interpreters and Mediators, Manchester, UK: St. Jerome Publishing

Venuti, L. (2000). The Translation Studies Reader, London and New York: Routledge. ***Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language (2006)

Springfield: Massachusetts: A Division of Merriam – Webster, Incorporated

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Mariana NEAGU ‘Beware of Your Luggage!’1 – A Glimpse At (G)Localized English

„Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi, ROMANIA

„Language is the source of misunderstandings.” (Antoine de Saint Exupery, The Little Prince) Keywords: glocalization, genre, discourse, register, text-type. 1. Introduction The theoretical framework of this paper will explore recent thinking on the notions of genre, discourse, register, text and context and examine the extent to which these notions have explicitly or implicitly informed current thinking on translation and interpreting. In its practical part we will discuss various examples taken from Charlie Crocker’s Still Lost in Translation. More Misadventures in English Abroad in terms of the systematic-functional model of language.

Systemic-functional linguistics (SFL), as its name suggests, considers function and semantics as the basis of human language and communicative activity. Unlike structural approaches that privilege syntax, SFL-oriented linguists begin an analysis with social context and then look at how language acts upon, and is constrained and influenced by, this social context. Systemic Functional (SF) theory views language as a systematic resource for expressing meaning in context. "The value of a theory," Halliday wrote, "lies in the use that can be made of it, and I have always

1 The first part of the title was inspired by the language mangler found in Charlie Crocker’s (2007: 25) book „Still Lost in Translation. More Misadventures in English Abroad”.

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considered a theory of language to be essentially consumer oriented" (1985: 7). SF theory states that particular aspects of a given context (such as the topics discussed, the language users and the medium of communication) define the meanings likely to be expressed and the language likely to be used to express those meanings.

Despite the apparenly entertaining aspect of the title, the paper has a serious goal, that is, to discuss some peculiarities of varieties of English used intranationally in the context of the so called glocalization, a concept which reconciles the two opposing approaches of globalization, i.e. one involving homogeneity and the other - cultural heterogeneity. Actually, the same opposing views show up in the two paradigms of English in the world: the English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) view and the World Englishes (WE) view. We do not intend to discuss the current debates about these two concepts but rather to examine the complex task of a translator by raising the following questions:

(1) Does culture impose itself on a text? (2) To what extent and in what ways are certain text types

affected by culture? As we follow those who argue that Lingua Franca English

communication does not have to exclude native speakers of English we believe that users’ awareness of conventional situation types facilitates communication in general and cross-cultural communication in particular. This is why in the next section we briefly consider the notions of genre, discourse, context, register and text.

2. Genre, discourse, context, register and text

The term genre, imported into linguistics from literary and rhetorical analysis, has been appropriated to describe different spoken and written communicative events. Nunan (2007:209) defines genre as a purposeful, socially constructed oral or written text such as a narrative, a casual conversation, a poem, a recipe, or a description. Genres are texts used in a particular situation for a particular purpose. (Trosborg, 1997: 6)

Each genre has its own characteristic structure and grammatical form that reflects its social purpose. Genre constraints operate at the level of (discourse) structure. For example, recipes typically contain a list of ingredients followed by a set of instructions, the typical grammatical form for English being the imperative.

It is known that genres reflect the cultural context within which they are constructed; therefore, genre and generic membership play an important role in the process of transfer between semiotic systems (Hatim

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and Mason, 1992: 70). That this is so we will see later, when we analyse a set of texts and show that what is appropriate in a SL genre can become totally superfluous within the conventions of the TL genre.

Concerning discourse, Hatim and Mason (1992: 70) consider it an expression of an attitude towards a subject (e.g. a book review is evaluative), a mode of talking and thinking which, like genre, can become ritualized. Woods (2006) looks at discourse as real language in use or language plus context - by which she means our experience, assumptions and expectations, the context we change in our relationships with others, etc.

The interrelationship between genre and discourse is also culturally determined, i.e. different cultures allow for different combinations. Equally, there are constraints on which discourses go with which genres and vice versa (e.g. a bureaucratic discourse will be resented at popular mass gatherings). In other words, genre constraints operate at the level of discourse structure.

In the construction of meaning, context plays a crucial role and it has often been considered under two separate headings, i.e. context of situation and context of culture. A key concept in Halliday’s (1985) approach, the context of situation is the immediate environment in which a text is actually functioning. It focuses on the various elements (the setting or social environment, the identity of the participants) involved in the direct production of meanings in a particular instance of communication. The context of culture is a broader background against which the text has to be interpreted. It is the institutional and ideological background that gives value to the text and constrains its interpretation. It includes the traditions, the institutions, the discourse communities, the historical context and the knowledge base of the participants (which may be mono-cultural, cross-cultural or multicultural). Cultural and situational elements are often so closely intertwined that it is extremely difficult to see them in isolation. While genre relates to the context of culture, register relates to the context of situation.

Register is a use-related variety of language (Halliday and Hasan, 1989), a functional language variation. Registers comprise an open-ended set of varieties (or styles) of language typical of occupational fields, such as the language of religion, the language of legal documents, the language of newspaper reporting, medical language, technical language, etc. (Trosborg, 1997: 5).

One register may be realized through various genres. For example, the legal register may comprise the language of the law in legal documents (legislative texts, contracts, wills), the language of the courtroom, (the judge

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declaring the law, judge/counsel interchanges, counsel/witness interchanges), the language of legal textbooks, and various types of lawyers’ communication with other lawyers and with laymen. Registers impose constraints at the linguistic level of vocabulary and syntax. Hence, a very interesting point to make relative to how a given register is identified is the presence of collocations (of two or more lexical items) rather than the occurence of isolated items. We will come back to this idea in the practical part of this paper.

Concerning the notion of text, it has often been viewed as a static concept – the product of a process - while discourse has been used to refer to a dynamic notion – the process of text production and text comprehension. For SF linguists the text is the unit of analysis because the functional meaning potential of language is realized in units no smaller than texts. Of course, the study of texts is typically performed by examining elements of the lexicogrammar and phonology, but these smaller units must be viewed from the perspective of their contribution to the meanings expressed by the total text in context. "For a linguist, to describe language without accounting for text is sterile; to describe text without relating it to language is vacuous." (Halliday, 1985: 10)

A text type is a macro-structure which essentially encompasses the purposes for which utterances are used. In recent years, texts have been classified on the basis of a predominant rethorical function into expository, argumentative, persuasive and instructional texts. A clear-cut classification of text types is something idealized because most, if not all texts are hybrids. The predominence of a given rhetorical purpose in a given text is an important clue for assesing text-type identity. Rhetorical purpose is important not only in defining norms but also in spotting deviations which must be heeded and preserved in translation. Besides the register dimension, texts and their translations may be seen from the perspective of the wider context of culture. Hatim and Munday (2006: 76) argue that factors such as the communicative event within which a text is embedded (genre) and the ideological statements which a text makes (discourse) become crucial parameters in the effective production and reception of texts and in the evaluation of translations.

3. Register variables and their role in text translation

As we have shown earlier, the primary construct for explaining linguistic variation is register. Register is important in systemic linguistics because it is seen as the linguistic consequence of interacting aspects of context, which Haliday calls "field, tenor, and mode." These concepts serve to interpret the

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social context of a text, the environment in which meanings are being exchanged. (Halliday and Hasan, 1989: 12). More importantly, we believe and will give evidence later that problems involved in translating a text into another language come from failing to establish equivalent terminology in the appropriate field, to achieve TL expression in the appropriate mode and tenor.

The field of discourse can roughly be associated with the subject matter of the text. Martin (2001: 152-3) exemplifies fields by activities such as tennis, opera, linguistics, cooking, building construction, farming, politics, education and so on. However, fields can be characterised by a variety of subject matters (e.g. political discourse as a field may be about law and order, taxation or foreign policy). From a translator’s perspective, field can become a problem when working from a source language such as English – which has developed a scientific and technical culture and consequently, marked fields of discourse, - into target languages in the developing world.

The tenor of discourse is related to the social roles and relationships between participants in a speech situation; it includes relations of formality, power and affect. The degree of power between two interactants will determine how a particular communicative event is carried out, and will be marked linguistically. Crystal (1992), in his Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics, shows that Halliday’s tenor refers to the relations among participants in a language activity, especially the level of formality they adopt (colloquial, formal, etc.). The term tenor stands out as a roughly equivalent term for style which is a more specific alternative used by linguists to avoid ambiguity. In our opinion, a translator should not forget that components of tenor such as formality, informality and power distance are also dimensions of cultural values in some societies.

The mode of discourse refers to the medium or channel of communication: spoken, written, written to be spoken, etc. For translation and interpreting studies, this variable is of relevance in many circumstances, for example when films are subtitled and certain phonological features of mode have to be represented in writing. 3.1 Looking for equivalent terminology in the appropriate field In our collection of mistranslated signs and notices selected from Charles Crocker’s book, Still Lost in Translation. More Misadventures in English Abroad, 10 examples out of 64 pertain to the field of cooking. Here are some samples of ‘gems’ found on menu lists, normally characterized by the

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referential function of language which involves objectivity and non-ambiguity, features neglected in most of the texts: 1. Strong soup with added materials. (Hungarian Menu list) 2. Hen food (Menu list in Iran) 3. Stewed language in assorted prinkles (Spain) 4. Cheesebugger and chips. (Meat dish on a menu list, Greece) 5. Instantenous steak . (Minute steak on a 1960s menu in Mozambique) 6. Smashed pots. (Menu list, Greece)

The lexical choices above, given in bold type, are clearly inappropriate in terms of the field of discourse, as are the following notices: 7. In carriage of eating do not sit on floor with legs crossed, as in house. Sit on chair and eat from table. Servant girl bring tea and uneatables. (On Chinese train) 8. In your room you will find a mini bar which is filled with alcoholics. (Munich) 9. Frozen ice available here (Toledo, Spain) 10. At once, it is added the desired culinary vegetables and the water. Salt at will. ... The fire is vivified until the culinary vegetables and the flesh meat may be well cooked, without it leaves one moment to boil. (instructions to cook paella)

The phenomenon of redundancy, obvious in frozen ice (example 9) and flesh meat (example 10) also occurs in other texts: (11) Please do not graffitti on the wall or anywhere. (At Hirosaki Castle, Japan) (12) Please proceed forward with being directed by museum officials. (At Hirosaki Castle, Japan) (13) Take care! Fall into water carefully. (Beside the Black Dragon Pool, a lake near Lijang) (14) Do not litter the trash around. (Sign at Chinese University)

Examples (11) and (14) are both negative directives, i.e. they direct people not to do something, but, while the former contains the politeness marker please, the latter is a simple imperative. As we have mentioned earlier, sometimes directives are accompanied by an explanation or justification, a form of politeness which gives details or reason, as in the following:

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(15) Please not to dive in hotel swim pond. Bottom of pond very hard, and not far from top of water.(Shanghai) (16) The use of the swimming pool is forbidden while contageous disease is suffered. (Hotel in Punta Umbria).

Sometimes, justification (vindication) in directives is foregrounded, probably for the purpose of imparting the sentence a milder tone, so that the interactant who has the power to make directives can allow the other some face2: (17) To protect cultural relic no carving. (Sign at ruins, Beijing) (18) In order to keep fit no spitting. (Sign at ruins, Beijing)

Another sign containing an explanation is a concocted apology, also found in Crocker’s collection of language manglers: (19) Sorry for the condition of our toilets, this is due to a car accident (A public house in Dungeness, Kent).

This singular statement, produced by a native speaker, is characterized by a logical rather than a linguistic flaw, in that it contains the so-called ‚non sequitur’ type of reasoning in which logical leaps include the omission of various stages between cause and effect.

The explanation of what went wrong in the apology above is highly unexpected and an interesting question. This could raise concerns not so much the culture-specific face-saving device, but the source of humour in the apology. Besides, we believe example (19) confirms Clyne’s opinion that „Europeans will apologize in such a way as to avoid losing face. This puts both Europeans and South-East Asians at variance with Anglo-Australians, who occupy the middle ground in that they tend to apologize as a formality according to conventions of politeness but do not make a ‚big deal’ out of it”. (Clyne, 1994: 84).

Ellipsis

2 The notion of face, derived from Goffman (1967, 1972, 1976) and further

developped by Brown and Levinson (1978, 1987) ties in with the expression lose face (to be embarrasssed or humiliated. The notion acknowledges politeness as ritual and maintaining face in interaction is the central element in commoly accepted notions of politeness.

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Opposite to the redundant expressions above are the so-called

underdetermined linguistic expressions, i.e. expressions that can only make full sense if completed with contextual material. (20) The main difference of a wall and a street side room is about the view. (On website of a hotel in Istanbul) (21) Jerusalem – there’s no such city! (Tourism brochure trying to say Jerusalem – there’s no city like it!) (22) Heads Cutting Y 1500. For Bald Men Y 900 (Japanese Barber) (23) Nail remover (On bottle of Japanese nail polish remover).

The common argument that usually accounts for the use of ellipsis is space restrictions imposed by the channel or mode of discourse. What the producers of the above-mentioned texts seem to have overlooked is semantic and grammatical knowledge about words that can be omitted.

3.2 Culture-sensitivity reflected by tenor Besides poor knowledge of TL vocabulary and grammar, some of the mistranslated texts collected by Charles Crocker also display some flaws pertaining to the interpersonal domain, to what has earlier been referred to as tenor of discourse. Tenor subsumes aspects of power and solidarity and thus caters for social distance. In the analysis of interpersonal meaning, two basic types of relationship may be distinguished: power and solidarity. Power emanates from the text producer’s ability to impose his or her plans at the expense of the text receiver’s plans. Solidarity, on the other hand, is the willingness of the text producer genuinely to relinquish power and work with his or her interlocutors as members of a team.

Instruction in itself constitutes a face-threatening act, namely „an act which runs contrary to the face wants of the addresee and/or of the speaker.” (Brown and Levinson, 1987: 65) Requests, orders, threats, suggestions and advice are instances of acts which represent a threat to negative face, i.e. that aspect of face pertaining to a person’s desire to have the freedom to act without being imposed upon. In order to avoid or minimize face-threatening activities, participants in interaction usually select from a set of strategies involving a higher or lower degree of politeness. Although politeness itself is a universal phenomenon, politeness strategies and individual speech acts may vary from one language/culture to another, as can be noted in the following cases of distorted translations:

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(24) The visitor halts! (Restricted access sign, Yonghe Temple, Beijing) (25) Please treasure the grass. (At tourist attraction, Hinan Island, China) (26) Smoking should be prohibited inside these facilities. (At Hirosaki Castle, Japan)

The imperative directive in example (24) because of its unusual form in the third person singular, can be interpreted as a form of indirectness favoured in the Chinese culture. In (25) the meaning of the verb treasure contains an expressive dimension which sounds odd in English, in an operative (directive) text, i.e a text type in which the focus is on the formation of future behaviour, either with option or without option. The use of should in (26) shows that the sign is translated only informatively, neglecting the perlocutionary effect conveyed by the plain English equivalent „No smoking!”

To conclude at this point, we believe that the clumsy translations of the directives Restricted access, Keep off the grass and No smoking in examples (24) – (26) can be accounted for from a cross-cultural pragmatic perspective. Following Wierzbicka (2003) and Trosborg (1995) we argue that in different countries, people may speak in different ways – not only because they use different linguistic codes involving different lexicons and different grammars, but also because their ways of using codes are different. The cultural norms reflected in speech acts may differ from one language to another. As it is known, English cultural norms favour indirectness in acts aiming at bringing about an action from the addressee. Although the Chinese and Japanese cultural norms also encourage indirectness as exemplified in (25) and (26), these forms of indirectness are rather different from those cultivated in the Anglo-Saxon culture.

Discussing written discourse across cultures, Clyne (1994: 170) maintains that in Japanese, in contrast to English, the emphasis is far more on content than on form and the return to the baseline theme is obligatory. In the following example (also taken from our selection) we see how Japanese discourse suggests possibilities, while English discourse argues ideas:

(27) You had better deposit your baggage into the charge free lockers or it will be ours. But we are not interested in your camera. We do not like to be stared at our eyes. If you do so, we are not responsible for what will happen. We do not hope to be such a monkey. Please, refrain from feeding us. (In Japanese national park containing monkeys).

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4. Problems of reference and ambiguity

Reference is a semantic relation in which the source of interpretation of some element is to be sought elsewhere; with elsewhere in the text as a special case (Halliday, 2002: 40). Pronouns are regarded as cohesive devices when used anaphorically. They have variable reference and sometimes one can select an unlikely candidate for the referent as in (28): (28) Mr. Word can’t open the file ... probably he is damaged. (Error message, Japan).

Ambiguity is the semantic characteristic of lexical items and syntactic structures of allowing for more than one semantic interpretation in a certain context, a case in which the interpreter of a certain piece of linguistic discourse encounters difficulties in mentally processing the meaning of the message. Ambiguity can be a lexical phenomenon, arising from homonymy or polysemy or syntactic, arising from the possibility of alternative constituent structures.

Syntactic ambiguity occurs when a phrase or sentence has more than one underlying structure, such as the sentence Visiting relatives can be boring. This type of ambiguity is also said to be structural because a phrase or sentence can be represented in two structurally different ways: [Visiting relatives] can be boring, i.e. Relatives that visit us can be boring and Visiting [relatives] can be boring, i.e. To visit relatives can be boring.

Syntactic ambiguity commonly arises because of a prepositional phrase placed at the end of the sentence, as in example (29), produced by a native speaker:

(29) Will you have any guest wishing to take bath, please make arrangements to have one with Mrs. Harvey. (Small Hotel, Cornwall, UK) 5. Conclusions The examples discussed in the paper (except for 19 and 29) have been meant to point to the four classes of translation problems identified by Nord (1997:58): (a) pragmatic (b) intercultural (c) interlingual and (d) text-specific.

Pragmatic translation problems (PTP) arise from the difference between two communicative situations: the Source Text (ST) situation and the Target Text (TT) situation (example 15).

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Intercultural translation problems (CTP) refer to text-type conventions and general conventions of style. In examples (24-26) we have seen different conventional forms of address that do not fit the Target culture very well.

Interlingual translation problems (LTP) are caused by structural differences in vocabulary (examples 1-10) and syntax (examples 16-18).

Text-specific translation problems (TTP) are those problems that arise in the translation of one specific text and whose solution cannot be generalized, although it is also based on functional criteria. This category, including the translation of metaphors, similes, puns, rhetorical figures has been analysed elsewhere (Neagu, 2005, 2008).

Like in any functional translation, in the translation of notices and signs, problems should therefore be approached starting on the pragmatic level, taking into account the addresee’s background knowledge, expectations, communicative needs, medium restrictions and ending with context-bound decisions .

References Brown, P. and S. Levinson. (1987). Politeness: some universals in language usage.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Clyne, M. (1994). Inter-cultural communication at work. Cultural values in discourse.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Crocker, C. (2008). Still Lost in Translation. More Misadventures in English Abroad.

London: Arrow Books Halliday, M.A.K. (1985). Introduction to Functional Grammar. London: Edward

Arnold Halliday, M.A.K and R. Hasan. (1989). Language, context and aspects of language in

social semiotic perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press Halliday, M. A. K. (2002). Linguistic Studies of Text and Discourse. Edited by

Jonathan Webster. London/New York: Continuum Hatim, B. and Ian Mason. (1992). Discourse and the Translator. London: Longman Hatim, B. and Jeremy Munday. (2006). Translation. An advanced resource book.

London and New York: Routledge Martin, J. (2001). Language, register and genre. In Burns, A. and C. Coffin. eds.

Analysing English in a Global Context. London: Routledge Neagu, M. (ed.) (2005). Understanding and Translating Metaphor. Bucuresti: Editura

didactica si pedagogica Neagu, M. (2008). On the (Un)translatability of Puns. In Popa Diana. ed. Humour

and Laughter. Theory and Applications. Galati: Galati University Press (forthcoming)

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Nord, C. (1997). A Functional Typology of Translations. In Anna Trosborg. ed. Text Typology and Translation. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, pp. 43-65

Nunan, D. (2007). What Is This Thing Called Language? London: Palgrave Macmillan Nunan, D. (2008). Exploring genre and register in contemporary English. English

Today, vol. 24, no. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Saraceni, M. English as a lingua franca: between form and function. English Today.

vol. 24, no.2, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Trosborg, A. (1995). Interlanguage Pragmatics. Requests, Complaints and Apologies.

Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter Trosborg, A. (ed.) (1997). Text Typology and Translation. Amsterdam/Philadelphia:

John Benjamins Wierzbicka, A. (2003 [1991]). Cross-Cultural Pragmatics. The Semantics of Human

Interaction. Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter Woods, N. (2006). Describing Discourse. A Practical Guide to Discourse Analysis.

London: Hodder Arnold

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Lidia Mihaela NECULA Translating Cultural Brands: David Lodge, “Changing Places”


In the globalizing literary context that we find ourselves living in, our understanding of cultural industries (both mediators and mediated) is shifted from representation to objects in the contemporary production of meaning thus opening new avenues for research on translation, communication and culture: things are mediated in and from two directions, being translated into and at the same time materializing our imaginary.

Nowadays, popular culture has become a dominant feature of contemporary living generating, displacing and energizing iconic brands. Translating cultures thus comes to play an ever more central role in the economic production, and so, on the literary stage, brands are becoming an important tool meant to transform literary works in economic value indulging a meaning-making process at the centre of both literary production and consumption.

Books, some of the main cultural materials used in the symbolic work of leisure, are cultural commodities since they are supplied to the market overwhelmingly by the commercial cultural industries and media for profit.

At the moment there is a widespread view that the cultural media and cultural commodities must appeal to the lowest common denominators of taste. Not only do they have intrinsic value but, more disturbingly, they may have coded-in negative values which manipulate, cheapen, degrade and even brutalize the sensibilities of the masses. (J. Clifford, 1986: 63)

Former Chairman of the Judges for the Booker Prize for Fiction, and a Booker Prize winner himself, David Lodge is the author of numerous works of literary criticism, mainly about the English and the American novel and literary theory.

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However famous for his campus/academic novel, especially his trilogy about the lives and follies of academics: Changing Places (1975), Small World (1984) and Nice Work (1988), David Lodge, the literary brand, is fatally brutalized and manipulated into becoming a mere cultural commodity for profit. Therein, given the variety of adjectives connected to David Lodge the literary brand and to David Lodge the cultural commodity, i.e. satirist, comic, self-conscious novelist, writer of sexy sagas, it is easy to assume the unavoidable trap the editor and the translator of the Romanian version fell into.

Hence, what the present paper aims at is investigating David Lodge from under the lens of the cultural commodity/brand which good speakers of English encounter directly, and David Lodge, the translated, re-written, re-created, and, therefore, the media(ted) brand that readers of English discover indirectly. In so doing, David Lodge the iconic brand (for satire on the academia) is culturally translated into a new commodity (different from and differing with the original) fathered both by the translator of the novel (Virgil Stanciu) and by its editor (the artistic creator who finally decides on the book cover of the new, translated novel).

Language and cultural forms are sites in which different subjectivities struggle to impose or challenge, to confirm, negotiate or displace definitions and identities. Therein, the translation of Changing Places, the cultural brand, could be seen as a negotiation between the source text and its translator (Virgil Stanciu) who has to find the most appropriate equivalent cultural elements in the target language so that, while negotiating on the borderlines of a common cultural background between English and Romanian, he could still mediate the new translated, rewritten, recreated ‘other’ product which turns out to be a cultural commodity as well. Needless to say that the chosen title for the Romanian version of Changing Places, i.e. Schimb de dame, does nothing but confuse and delude readers who expect to read a sexy saga (very much resembling a game of cards with the same name) and not a witty novel structured on the scheme of the academic exchange. The idea of an easy readable and digestible sexy narrative is reinforced by the choice of the book cover in the Romanian edition (two dancing couples exchanging lascivious glances with presumably the partner of the other).

In view of Gerard Genette’s approach, the book cover functions like a paratext, and in so doing, it not only presents the reader with the novel in a nutshell but it also manipulates the reader into building up his expectations in a particular way as to the reception of the novel he is about to study and, eventually, convert. However, the book cover that the editor has chosen for the Romanian edition and the title given to the translated version do nothing but present another novel, half signed by David Lodge, half signed

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by the translator Virgil Stanciu, a novel which offers its reading key at the end by simply inviting its readership to reconsider all the paratextual elements, already part and parcel of the plot, all over again.

In this day and age, editors are known to bring living identities to commerce, which means that the consumption of cultural commodities is being formed there. (R. Holeton, 1992: 43) Given the fact that culture is a dialectic process between internal models of the world and external realities, not only the editor but also the translator bring experiences, feelings, social position and social memberships to their encounter with cultural commerce: the editor has to pick and choose a book that sells and enjoys success not only among an elitist readership but mainly among the common reading public while the translator has to operate at the level of and to make cross cultural negotiations. (J. Storey, 1994: 78)

Throughout the entire process both the editor and the translator are submitted to contradictory pressures towards encoding into the cultural commodity (the book) that which is both clearly familiar (that conforms to tradition, to formal or generic convention) and also innovative and realistic (offering a twist on, or modernizing, traditional genres) leading the way for complex technical, formal and ideological negotiations in mainstream media pre-texts.

Significant for such a conception of the textual commodity (the book) are the semiotic notions of textual production, work and process. According to this point of view, meanings are not fixed entities to be deployed at the will of their communicator (the author, the editor or the translator) but products of textual interactions shaped by a range of economic, aesthetic and ideological factors that often operate unconsciously and are predictable and difficult to control. (1994: 86)

The meaning of a book title like Changing Places runs on two levels at least, both of which dependant on the plot, hinting at some clues about a possible exchange scheme, either at the professional level (the academic exchange scheme between the two professors) and/or at the social (perhaps (?) the not intentional exchange scheme of the spouses). In Romanian, however, the variety of choices is probably narrowed down by the fact that, a rough translation of the English title would be Schimb de locuri which involves the idea of an exchange, most probably one at the professional level but hardly one at the personal level. Therefore, despite the translator’s initial title suggestion, which was not Schimb de dame, the editor had to decide on another one, closer to the market reading demand thus turning David Lodge’s Changing Places, David Lodge the author and the David Lodge’s translated (and converted) Schimb de dame, into a cultural commodity.

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Likewise, to the aesthetic vagaries of production is added the frequent diminution of textual control at the third level of media analysis – reception. The viewing or reading situation affects the meanings and pleasures of a work by introducing into the cultural exchange a range of determinations, potentially resistant or contradictory, arising from the differential social and cultural constitution of readers or viewers – by class, gender, race, age, personal history and so on. This is potentially the most radical moment of negotiation, being the most variable and unpredictable. (R. Meyersohn and E. Shils, 1978: 46)

As a result, it is the purpose of this article to suggest that the concept of negotiation might take a central place in rethinking the relations between media products (books), ideologies and targeted audiences (readership) – perhaps bridging the gap between verbal/ visual/ textual(ized) and social subjects. The value of this notion lies in its avoidance of an overtly deterministic view of cultural production, whether economistic - the media(ted) product (authors, books) reflects dominant economic interests outside the text or cine-psychoanalytic - the text constructs spectators through the psycholinguistic mechanisms of the patriarchal Unconscious. The term ‘negotiation,’ therefore, implies the holding together of opposite sides in an ongoing process of give-and-take since as a model of meaning production, negotiation conceives cultural exchange as the intersection of processes of production and reception, in which overlapping but non-matching determinations operate. Thus, meaning is neither imposed, nor passively imbibed, but arises out of a struggle or negotiation between competing frames of reference, motivation and experience. (J. Tomlison, 1999: 57)

Viewing and reading are social practices which differ between groups and historical periods and shape the meanings which targeted audiences (readerships) derive from cultural products. Given that, it wouldn’t be wrong to assume that the book covers of Changing Places released under all the Penguin editions are also social practices themselves, i.e. forms of translation from the visual to the verbal (textualized) possible only through a switching and a negotiation of codes. Accordingly all of the Penguin editions are overt representations of the exchange scheme – perhaps less in terms of the Academia and more in terms of cultural negotiations, so that Changing places appears like a game of and with cultural stereotypes when me meets the not-me: the pipe, the T-shirt, the modern architecture, the casual style and the messy appearance are an icon for the American cultural brand, while the hat, the umbrella, the raincoat, the smog or Palace Gardens are the very icon for elegance and, therefore, of the British cultural brand.

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Also, reference should be made to the fact that there is a tendency to overlook that circumstances change cases and contexts (visual or written) change texts and this places the creative impulse directly on the material productions of the ‘creative’ artist - the editor and to a certain extent, the translator, with the reception or consumption of cultural commodities wholly determined by its aesthetic form, palely reflecting what is timelessly coded within the written/visual representation of the text.

David Lodge’s Changing Places is translated into Romanian but also converted by Virgil Stanciu into Schimb de Dame, which provides a good example of cultural negotiation (or rather cultural branding) provoked by inherent contradictions of the media(ting) industries where the product itself (the translated version of the book) becomes a site of textual and visual negotiation. The book covers of the translated version of Changing Places, Schimb de dame, released under the Polirom edition in 2001 and 2003 respectively, are a case in which the textual context is changed by the visual circumstance so that the book is turned into a cultural commodity. Therein, both the editor and the translator are interested in exploring how far ‘meanings’ and effects can change quite decisively according to the social contexts of ‘consumption’, to different kinds of de-coding and worked on by different forms of symbolic work on the text so that they create their own relationships to technical means of reproduction and transfer. Schimb de Dame, the title chosen for the translated version of Changing Place, does little but announce a novel that is about the Academia and an Academic exchange. The plot it seems to be announcing is visually supported by the 2001 Polirom edition which presents two couples dancing in the foreground and others in the background. The novel is indeed about an exchange scheme between academics and not between spouses as the Romanian title would suggest. Morris Zapp and Philip Swallow do exchange jobs for a period of six months and in the process they swap lives, homes, and eventually spouses, a consequence rather of having followed the exchange scheme. However, unlike the 2001 edition of Schimb de Dame, the book covers of the 2003 Polirom edition of the same book has a rather encoded version of the novel, and only those who both know the plot of the novel and are good speakers of English can ‘read’ the book cover – provided they have some idea on what the novel is about since there is obviously clear emphasis on the idea of Academia in the very representation of chairs (synonym with department).

Therefore, the translation of cultural brands involves, before anything else, a process of cross-cultural negotiations wherein cultural implications are considered and what the translator/editor communicates are ideas in terms that are meaningful to the members of the targeted audience (the readership). Therein, the cultural brand (David Lodge the writer, David

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Lodge author of Changing Places) is converted into a new cultural commodity (the new version of Changing Places translated by Virgil Stanciu), and read from two opposite directions: different language systems and different/ and differing cultures. And so, even though it is said that different cultures come together within global communication, the translation of cultural brands clearly shows that in some cases culture may be an obstacle to branding communication. References Clifford, J. (1986). The Predicament of Culture, Twentieth Century Ethnography,

Literature and Art, Cambridge: Harvard University Press Holeton, R. (ed.) (1992). Encountering Cultures. Reading and Writing in a Changing

World, New Jersey: Prentice Hall Lodge, D. (1978). Changing Places, New York: Penguin Books ***2001. Schimb de dame,Virgil Stanciu (trans.), Bucuresti: Polirom ***2003. Schimb de dame, Virgil Stanciu (trans.) 2nd Ed., Bucuresti: Polirom Meyersohn, R. and E. Shils (eds.) (1978). Literary Taste, Culture and Mass

Communication. Vol.1. Cambridge: Chadwyck Healey Storey, J. (1994). Cultural Consumption and Everyday Life, London: Edward Arnold Tomlison, J. (1999). Globalization and culture, Cambridge: Polity Press

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Carmen OPRIT-MAFTEI Translating Voice in Headlines


The Grammatical Category of Voice Although the grammatical category of voice can be identified in both English and Romanian, in English it does not arouse any controversies as the distinction is made only between active and passive. However, as Quirk put it, “in sentences where there is a choice between active and passive, the active is the norm.” (Greenbaum, Quirk, 1990:45)

Some recent studies speak about a third type of voice in English, namely, the medium voice, regarded as an intermediary between the active and the passive, allowing the subject of a sentence to be non-agentive but the verb morphology corresponding to the active voice. (Celce-Murcia, Larsen-Freeman 1999: 350)

In Romanian, on the other hand, the discussions begin even from the attempt of defining the grammatical category of voice, whether it is a morphological or syntactical category, the number of voices in Romanian which varies from at least two (Graur, 1969:13) to six (Irimia, 1997:100), their values, etc. This paper does not aim at enlarging upon these topics, however, it will accept three voices (thus sharing the opinion of several Romanian linguists), namely, active, passive and reflexive.

Since the active voice causes no ambiguities and the reflexive voice is considered to have no correspondent in English, we shall focus on the passive. As we dedicated a presentation to the categories of passives constructions as well as to their translation difficulties (Maftei, 2005), we shall concentrate in the present paper on certain theoretical aspects.

Thus, in both languages there can be identified a morphologic synonymy due to the existence of several morphemes marking the same type of voice. In Romanian the passive constituted with the auxiliary a fi and the past participle and the agent is synonymous from the morphological point of view with the unstressed form of the reflexive pronoun se and the agent (in both cases the agent can be expressed or not).

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The main difference between the two variants is emphasized by Luminiţa Hoarţă-Lăzărescu (1999:23) who states that the first variant (a fi + past participle + agent) avoids ambiguity. This variant is also used in the scientific style more frequently than in other types of discourses. The second variant is more frequently used in fiction, implying a certain degree of ambiguity due to the possibility of misinterpreting the passive.

In English, there are two passive structures that are considered synonymous up to a certain point : get (get + past participle) and be (be + past participle). The get ( get + past participle) passive structures are more frequently used in the spoken English. One of the main structural differences refers to the aspect that get cannot act as an auxiliary in questions and negations like be, being replaced by do. (Celce-Murcia, Larsen-Freeman 1999 :345)

be (be-passive) Get (get–passive)

A : Was the manager summoned ? B : No, he wasn’t even called.

A : Did the manager get summoned ? B : No, he didn’t even get called.

According to some researchers the get + past participle variant is considered as a non-literal variant as compared with be + past participle, this type of structure frequently refers to an activity and not a state. (Duţescu-Coliban, Vişan 1978 :151)

Others believe that the main difference between the two variants does not imply only the stative – non-stative dichotomy. Therefore, Lakoff (apud op cit 1978 :152) emphasizes that the passive structure get + past participle unlike be + past participle is more frequently used to express the attitude of the speaker regarding the events described in the sentence.

There should be mentioned that in English have may act as a passive auxiliary. Thus, the have-passive is more complicated than the other two structures mentioned previously mainly due to its structure which also contains a nominal structure: have + noun phrase + past participle.

Passive – the event took place by mistake.

Our accountant had his financial programmes deleted. (Contabilul nostru şi-a şters programele financiare.)

Causative – the accountant deleted his financial programmes on purpose.

The Romanian reflexive voice has no correspondent in English but old traditional grammars mention the existence of the reflexive verbs. Due to their insignificant number, approximately 150 according to Andrei Bantaş (1991:43), they cannot be considered as being the markers of a different type of voice. However, they can be used both with transitive and even intransitive verbs. For instance, to behave which is normally

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intransitive but which becomes transitive in contexts like: Our employees behaved themselves very well when confronted with the pay cut.

Another category of verbs that should be mentioned here are the reciprocal verbs that in both languages imply two or more participants: marry, disagree, fight, argue, compete, divorce, etc. Some of these verbs can be followed by each other to avoid ambiguities or to emphasize a certain aspect.

Without being exhaustive we have pointed several theoretical aspects regarding the grammatical category of voice in English and Romanian. In order to analyse the modalities of translating voice, we have selected several headlines form an English publication for which we provide the Romanian translation.

Translating Voice in Headlines

1. Boss axes 1,000 jobs –the meaning of this headline is: The owner/employer

has cut 1,000 jobs at his business. A possible Romanian variant might be: 1000 de locuri de muncă reduse de patron. In the source language as well as in the target language the headlines in general make use of key words that are employed to capture and arouse the reader’s interest. In the selected headline there can be noticed the use of the present tense simple, active voice in the source language to denote an action that took place in the past. This aspect may cause translation difficulties for the non-philological students. The meaning of the source language text was rendered by an elliptic structure, employing the Romanian perfect compus, passive in the target language to convey the stylistic effect of the original.

2. Olivetti Increases Its Stake in Technost to 72.8% - a possible translation

variant might be: Firma Olivetti şi-a mărit numărul de acţiuni deţinute la Technost până la 72,8%. In the source language, the present simple is frequently employed in headlines to denote an action that occurred in the past. The journalist chooses this variant as he/she aims at producing a dramatic impact upon the reader. Moreover the journalist aims at creating a suggestive image in the eyes of the reader, make them visualize the action brought into discussion. In the target language, a transitive reflexive verb was employed to render the informational content of the source language term.

3. Microsoft Says Operating System Won’t Be Released Until 2000 – the

translation variant we suggest is: Compania Microsoft anunţă că noul sistem de operare nu va fi lansat pe piaţă înainte de anul 2000. In the

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selected headline, there can be identified a partial grammatical equivalence, morphological and syntactical. The grammatical equivalence implies, among other aspects, the same number of words (and each word having the same morphological values) or as Croitoru (1996:58) puts it “equivalence involves matching not just one dimension, but all dimensions of the source text”. Thus, Microsoft from the source language becomes Compania Microsoft in the target language, a variant preferred only to avoid ambiguity. The indirect free style from the target language allows the use of the conjunction că that precedes the adjective noul and which is not used as a determinant in the source language. The temporal interval ends with the term 2000, the numeral which is not determined in the source language but determined in the target language: anul 2000. This example illustrates the syntactic equivalence as the target language variant maintains the source language structure: the main sentence being placed at the beginning of the phrase being followed by the Romanian direct object clause.

4. German Coalition Is Split by Arms Deal – Coaliţia germană destrămată din

cauza unei afaceri cu arme. In this example, the passive was preferred to render the source language passive with the agent being present. The active variant: O afacere cu arme a destrămat coaliţia germană –might be accused of semantic loss as it diminishes the stylistic effect of the original. Moreover, the use of the Romanian perfect simplu may also reduce the possible effect created by the source language present tense simple. The use of the passive is, in this case, due to the impression of the objectivity it provides. Besides being clearer than the active ones, as no mention is made of people, passive sentences are shorter leading to conciseness. Thus, a passive sentence begins with the subject and, as Croitoru (1996:137) mentioned it, is into the subject that the writer puts more information.

5. Digital Island and Sandpiper to Merge – Firmele Digital Island şi Sandpiper

vor fuziona. This example was selected to illustrate the use of the active infinitive in the source language referring to the future which might cause confusion. The target language variant makes use of the active future to render the meaning of the source language text.

6. Oil Terminal Triples Profit – Firma Oil Terminal şi-a triplat profitul. The

English present tense simple, active voice denotes in headlines, as it was mentioned before, a past event. The use of the Romanian perfect

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compus, active voice was preferred to render the same stylistic effect upon the reader.

Conclusions English headlines are, in general, difficult to translate due to their elliptical structures and specific grammar. Translating them involves besides knowledge (on different levels, not only linguistic but also semantic and pragmatic) and skill, talent and intuition. As languages vary considerably, rendering a certain grammatical aspect can be sometimes difficult. The active voice, being present in both languages, causes no translation difficulties. Regarding the reflexive voice, traditional grammars consider it a case of non-equivalence as there is no correspondent in English. Modern grammars accept the existence of the medium voice which can be identified up to a certain point with the Roman reflexive voice. Passive structures are used more frequently in English than in Romanian. They can be rendered into the target language without causing translation difficulties although the translator has to choose the appropriate structure to convey the message correctly and the translation should be accused neither of semantic loss nor of semantic gain. As it has been demonstrated in the selected headlines, in most cases, a passive structure is rendered by an active one or vice versa (although the morphological or syntactical equivalence is not achieved) and this may influence the information the message conveys. This strategy of voice substituting may cause difficulties regarding the impersonal tone preservation. References Bantaş, A. (1991). Essential English, Bucuresti: Teora Celce-Murcia, M., Larsen-Freeman, D. (1999). The Grammar Book. An ESL/EFL

Teacher’s Course, USA: Heinle&Heinle Publishers Croitoru, E. (1996). Interpretation and Translation, Galaţi: Ed. Porto-Franco Duţescu-Coliban, T., Vişan, B. (1978). A Contrastive Analysis of Passives in Romanian

and English, in Further Contrastive Studies, Dumitru Chiţoran (coord.), Bucureşti: Bucureşti University Press

Greenbaum, S., Quirk, R. (1990). A Student’s Grammar of the English Language, London: Longman

Graur Al. (1969). Diatezele, SCL, nr. 1, XX, Ed. Academiei R.S.R. Hoarţă-Lăzărescu, L. (1999). Sinonimia şi omonimia gramaticală în limba română, Iaşi:

Ed. Cerni Irimia, D. (1997). Morfo-sintaxa verbului românesc, Iaşi: Ed. Universităţii “Al. I.

Cuza” Maftei, C. (2005). Dificultăţi în traducerea construcţiilor pasive din discursul ştiinţific în

limba engleză, Analele ştiiţifice ale universităţii “Al. Ioan Cuza”, Iaşi: Ed. Universităţii

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Mădălina Radu Cultural Meaning in Translating Proverbs

“Costache Negri” National College of Galaţi, ROMANIA

Key words: equivalence, expressiveness, source language culture, target

language culture. Translation is not simply a matter of seeking other words with similar meanings but of finding appropriate ways of saying things in another language. As it is generally known, different languages use different linguistic forms, but these forms represent only one of the aspects of the difference between the two language systems. The most challenging are the cultural meanings that are intricately woven into the texture of the language and it is the translator’s task to catch and render them appropriately.

Caught between the need to render the local colour and the need to make it understood by the target language audience (TLA), i.e. the audience outside the original cultural and linguistic situation, the translator’s awareness of both source culture (SC) and target culture (TC) is of utmost importance so much the more as the experiences conditioning daily life, the historical, social, political realities, traditions, customs, beliefs and feelings change from culture to culture.

Thus, the differences between the source language culture (SLC) and the target language culture (TLC) make the translating process in general, and the translation of idioms and proverbs in particular, a real challenge. This is due to the fact that a non-native speaker’s competence, in actively using the idioms and proverbs of a foreign language, hardly ever matches that of a native speaker. In particular, most translators working into a foreign language cannot hope to have the same sensitivity that natives do in judging when and how a proverb can be used. Moreover, this backs up the argument that translators should only work into their mother tongue.

On the same line of thinking, since proverbs are culture-bound units, mention should be made of the fact that the importance of the cultural

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elements in translation was fully recognized in the 1990’s that marked the cultural turn in translation studies. In the introduction to a collection of essays dealing with the role of the cultural issues in translation practice, Bassnett and Lefevere (1990) argued that any study of translation needs to take into account the context of both the SC and TC.

Furthermore, in handling culture-bound terms, translation strategies and techniques are very important. Thus, Aixela (1996) groups under some general strategies various techniques of coping with cultural terms in translation. One main strategy is that of conservation which may be achieved through repetition, slight orthographic adaptation, linguistic translation, extratextual and intratextual gloss.

A second general strategy is that of substitution, which can also take various forms: partial synonymy, limited universalisation, absolute universalisation, naturalization, deletion, autonomous creation. The fact should be underlined that the first strategy is applied in general to culture- bound terms, not to translating proverbs. There are aspects of the second strategy that can be brought up when translating proverbs.

In addition, from a broader perspective (Trosbord 1997), translation strategies generally focus on SC-bound translations and TC-oriented translations, a distinction which also holds valid in translating proverbs. A major idea is that, in such situations, the translator’s choice depends on a variety of textual and extratextual factors, linguistic and extralinguistic factors that include the identity and the background of the SL, the purpose of the translation, assumptions about the TLA traditions, customs, beliefs, considerations of historical, social and political background.

Another aspect of interest is that different peoples may perceive aspects of the world differently, expressing their perception accordingly. Thus, the nature of their expression is influenced by the nature of their perception.

This is best-illustrated in the extent to which ‘equivalence’ is preserved in translation. It is known that ‘equivalence’ covers linguistic units such as morphemes, words, phrases, clauses, idioms and proverbs. The last two, i.e. idioms and proverbs, are considered to be the special cultural image since their translation requires preserving the national specificity rather than only conveying the meaning of the original. Thus, finding TL equivalents does not mean finding one-to-one categorically or structurally equivalent units in the two languages, although two different linguistic units in two different languages may carry the same function.

As regards equivalent expressions between language pairs, Vinay and Darlbernet (1995: 82) argue that they are acceptable as long as they are listed in a bilingual dictionary as ‘full equivalents’. However, they consider

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that collections of idiomatic expressions can never be exhaustive. In their opinion, “the need for creating equivalences arises from the situation, and it is in the situation of the SL text that translators have to look for a solution. One cannot but agree with them that even if the semantic equivalent of an expression in the SL is given in a dictionary, it is not enough and does not guarantee a successful translation.

Furthermore, from a grammatical point of view, languages differ from one another in a greater or lesser degree. However, this does not mean that the translation cannot be possible, i.e. that the translator cannot find a translation equivalent. This is most often taken into consideration in translating idioms and proverbs.

In addition, the two types of equivalence suggested by Nida and Taber (1982), i.e. formal and dynamic equivalence, based on the message itself in both form and content and on the principle of equivalent effect, respectively, the latter is favoured in translating proverbs.

Nida (1964) points out the need for an adjustment generally leading to redundancy. This will support the idea that “all good translations tend to be appreciably longer than their originals” (Nida 1964: 131).

However, “all good translations tend to be longer than their originals, except, of course, when they need to be shorter.” (Ondelli 2000, in Pârlog 2000: 154).

What is essential is that the communication load should be satisfactory. For example, English proverbs such as Do as you would be done by; God helps those who helps themselves; God sends fortune to fools; Come rain or shine; Butter wouldn’t melt in their mouth; Beads about the neck and the devil in the heart need (much) longer equivalents for the communication load to be satisfactory in Romanian: Ce ţie nu-ţi place, altuia nu-i face; Dumnezeu îţi dă, dar nu-ţi bagă şi-n traistă; Prost să fii, noroc să ai; Ce i-o fi mamei, i-o fi şi tatei; Nici usturoi n-a mâncat, nici gura nu-i miroase; Unde vezi mătănii multe, departe să nu te muşte.

Baker’s (1992) concept of equivalence, at the word level and above the word level, includes all the different aspects of translation, bringing the linguistic and communicative approaches together.

The idea can be set forth that besides these aspects of equivalence, pragmatic equivalence should be paid special attention in translating proverbs, because the translator needs to work out implied meanings and recreate them in another culture in such a way that the TLA or the target language readers (TLRs) can understand them clearly.

Thus, the use of words in proverbs has much to do with lexical pragmatics that deals with words in context, i.e. the simultaneous interplay of linguistic (sentential) and extralinguistic (situational) contexts in which communication takes place.

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“Words occurring in context are interpreted according to the principle of pragmatic plausibility, whereby the meaning of a word represents the reading, from among all the available meanings, with the highest degree of probability in the given universe of discourse, which is collaboratively created and assumed by speaker/writer(s) and hearer/reader(s) in a given context.” (Prćić 2005, qtd. in Frenţiu 2005: 78)

In this respect, pragmatic enrichment (Sperber and Wilson 1995) could also be mentioned, i.e. context-bound interpretation. However, it is generally known that contextualized words are free from ambiguity, except the situations where ambiguity is intended.

It is not the specific items an expression contains, but rather the meaning it conveys and its association with culture-specific contexts which can make it untranslatable, or difficult to translate:

e.g. Here today, in China tomorrow. Azi aici, mâine-n Focşani. Thus, both the geographical contexts and the idiomatic meanings are

different. The rhetorical effect of using specific proverbs in the SL and TL is different. This is due to the fact that the translator should be not only accurate, but highly sensitive to rhetorical nuances of the language.

As far as translating culture-specific elements such as proverbs is concerned, it is not only challenging in its aspect of rendering the content, i.e. the message, but also in choosing the right form so that the meaning can be wrapped in the linguistic form proper to the TL culture.

When embarking upon translating proverbs from English into Romanian and viceversa, one must think that the concept of equivalence is differently viewed function of the SL. Thus, there are English culture-specific elements that cannot be rendered by Romanian equivalents which will convey the message as expressively as the Romanian culture- specific equivalents do. An example may be the proverb Too many chiefs and not enough Indians, whose correspondent in Romanian is Mulţi cu mapa, puţini cu sapa, both referring to the same referent, that of a job badly done because of too many people talking and making plans, while too few are actually working. The form is different, but the content is roughly the same. This is due to their different environments. It is known that in the process of colonizing the American continent, the English had to fight tribes of Indians led by a chief. On the other hand, the words of wisdom relate more to their native ground, and to their basic work of the land. Therefore, a saying like Too many carry the blotter and few carry the hoe would miss the same emotional impact in English as Mulţi şefi, dar puţini indieni would in Romanian.

As far as equivalence is concerned, there are situations in which the SL proverb lacks an appropriate equivalent in the TL. One of these

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instances is that in which names of animals/birds are used. Two situations can be identified: a) either the Romanian equivalents include names of animals/ birds that do not occur in the English proverbs, or b) the names of the animals/birds are different. On this line of thinking, consider the following English proverbs and their Romanian equivalents:

e.g. Bark up the wrong tree. Strici orzul pe gâşte. Is the Pope a Catholic? Mănânci calule ovăz? Put a cat amongst the pigeons. Pune lupul paznic la oi. Lie down with dogs, wake up with fleas. Dacă te bagi in jir, te mănâncă porcii. Or, there may be a third situation, i.e. when there is an animal name

in the English proverb, but there is none in the Romanian equivalent: e.g. He who has been bitten by a snake fears a rope. Cine s-a fript cu ciorbă suflă şi-n iaurt. There are also situations when the equivalence in the grammatical

form is missed. In such situations, the translator focuses on conveying the same reality, the same meaning in the word order specific to the TL so that the content should be rendered in a form which will sound native-like. For example, the meanings of the proverbs A watched pot never boils over and Dacă oala-i acoperită nu cad gunoaie în ea are equivalent. There is also equivalence at the level of the referent, i.e. pot, but the word order is very different. Hence, a perfect match is not possible. Other examples of proverbs showing an entirely different word order may be the following:

e.g. Do onto others as you would have them do. Ce ţie nu-ţi place, altuia nu-i face. Don’t ask God to guide your footsteps if you are not willing your

feet. Dumnezeu îţi dă, dar nu-ţi bagă şi-n traistă. Act today, only tomorrow is too late. Nu lăsa pe mâine ce poţi face azi. It’s easy to be wise after the event. După război, mulţi viteji se-arată. Never let the right hand know what the left hand is doing. Să nu ştie stânga ce face dreapta. A thief thinks everyone steals. Hoţului de hoţ i-e frică. English and Romanian proverbs are very interesting to study in terms

of the concept of ’equivalence’. Distinctions may be made between: 1) proverbs showing equivalence between English and their Romanian

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counterparts (e.g. God defend me from my friends, from my enemies I can defend myself Să mă ferească Dumnezeu de prieteni, că de duşmani mă feresc singur; All roads lead to Rome Toate drumurile duc la Roma; All’ s well that ends well Totul e bine când se termina cu bine) 2) proverbs with approximate equivalence (e.g. Actions speak louder than words Fapte, nu vorbe/ Faptele vorbesc, vorbele zboară; Bark is worse than their bite

Câinele care latră nu muşcă; Beard the lion in his own den Înfruntă /prinde leul în bârlogul lui) and 3) English and Romanian proverbs showing non-equivaelnce (e.g. God helps those who helps themselves Dumnezeu îţi dă, dar nu-ţi bagă şi-n traistă; God sends fortune to fools Prost să fii, noroc să ai; Come rain or shine Ce i-o fi mamei, i-o fi şi tatei).

In every debate on translating proverbs, there will always be loss of expressiveness in turning from the SL to the TL, especially in translating from Romanian into English. For example, when the TL lacks the ways of rendering the meaning of a proverb in a form similar to that in the SL, it will adapt the message to its specific methods:

e.g. Birds of a feather flock together. Cine se-aseamănă, se-adună. Like father, like son. Cum e sacul şi petecul. Health is better than wealth. Sănătate, că-i mai bună decît toate. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Nu da vrabia din mână pe cioara din par/ Ce-i în mână, nu-i minciună. The early bird cathes the worm. Cine se scoală de dimineaţă departe ajunge. Barking dogs never bite. Câinele care latră nu muşcă. Life is what you make of it. Cum îţi aşterni, aşa dormi. Most English proverbs have symmetrical equivalents in Romanian in

terms of their length: Love is blind Dragostea e oarbă; Opposites attract Extremele se atrag; Like father like son Aşa tată, aşa fiu; A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush Nu da vrabia din mână pe cioara din par. There may be approximately the same length with elliptical proverbs: No pleasure without pain Nu există plăcere fără durere/ Nu există câştig fără risc; No rose without a thorn Nu există trandafir fără ţepi.

To conclude, the concept of equivalence has been one of the most controversial areas in translation studies. It has caused a lot of debates, being widely discussed from different perspectives. The greatest difficulty in achieving translation equivalence lies in bridging the cultural gaps between two cultures, especially between two very different cultures like

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English and Romanian. Even when these difficulties are overcome, the result will be relative translation equivalence. References Aixela, J. F. (1996). “Culture Specific Items in Translation” in R. Alvarez and M. C.

A. Vidal (eds.) Translation, Power and Subversion, Clevendon: Multilingual Matters

Baker, M. (1992). In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation, London: Routledge Bassnett, S. and A. Lefevere. (1990). Translation, History and Culture, London: Panter Frenţiu, L. (ed.) (2005). Romanian Journal of English Studies, Timişoara: Editura

Universităţii de Vest Nida, E. (1964). Towards a Science of Translating, Leiden: E.J. Brill Nida, E. and C. R. Taber. (1982). The Theory and Practice of Translation, Leiden: E.J.

Brill Ondelli, S. (2000). “ Packing Source Language Information in a Manageable

English Text” in H. Pârlog (ed.) 2000 British and American Studies, Timişoara: Hestia, pp. 153-159

Prćić, T. (2005). “Words in Context: Pragmatic Enrichment of Semantically Unspecified Meanings” in L Frenţiu (ed.) 2005 Romanian Journal of English Studies, Timişoara: Editura Universităţii de Vest, pp. 77-83

Sperber, D. and D. Wilson. (1995). Relevance. Communication and Cognition, Oxford: Blackwell

Trosborg, A. (1997). Text, Typology, and Translation, Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins

Vinay, J. P. and J. Darbelnet. (1995). Comparative Stylistics of French and English: A Methodology for Translation, translated by J. C. Sager and M. J. Hamel, Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins

Corpus Bantaş, A., L. Leviţchi, and A. Gheorghiţoiu. (2008). Dictionar frazeologic român –

englez, Bucureşti: Teora *** Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms. (1981). Cambridge: CUP. Cărare, V. (2003). Dicţionar de proverbe româneşti, Bucuresti: All Flonta, T. (1995). English- Romanian Dictionary of Equivalent Proverbs, Bucureşti:

Teora Lefter, V. (1975). Dicţionar de proverbe englez-român, Bucureşti: Editura Ştiinţifică Lefter, V. (1978). Dicţionar de proverbe român- englez, Bucureşti: Editura Ştiinţifică şi

Enciclopedică Leviţchi, L., A. Bantaş, and A. Gheorghiţoiu. (1981). Dictionar frazeologic român –

englez, Bucureşti: Editura Ştiinţifică şi Enciclopedică

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Gabriela SCRIPNIC, Anca GÂŢĂ Equivalents of reportative evidentials in the French translation of Ion Creangă’s Memory of My Boyhood

“Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi, ROMANIA Introduction The paper focuses on the reportative evidentials used in the French translation of Ion Creangă’s Amintiri din Copilărie / Souvenirs d’enfance with the view to point out the way the source of knowledge is indicated in the discourse of both languages.

According to the way the source of information is marked in discourse, we may deal with direct evidentiality (when the speaker himself has visually or auditorily witnessed the action) or with indirect evidentiality (when the speaker hasn’t been a personal witness to the action). In the latter situation, the information in the statement may be either inferred (when the speaker deduces the action) or reported / quoted.

The lines of inquiry are first directed towards identifying the evidentials occuring in the Romanian text in order to show that the information derives from doxa or folklore and secondly, towards establishing which criteria have been considered when choosing a certain equivalent in the French translation.

The general framework is provided by traditional and recent studies in evidentiality theory such as: Jakobson 1957; Chafe & Nichols 1986; Journal of Pragmatics, vol. 33, March 2001; Aikhenvald 2003.

On reportative evidentials Generally speaking, evidentiality is defined as the linguistic phenomenon characterizing a series of Non-Indo-European languages, particularly languages from north and south America, according to which the information source is lexically or grammatically marked in the statement. Although the term evidentiality entered the linguistic tradition after Roman Jakobson had published Shifters, verbal categories, and the Russian verb in

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1957, it was fully acknowledged only after the first conference had been organized; the conference Evidentiality: The linguistic coding of epistemology (Chafe & Nichols, 1986) aimed at comparing evidentiality in different languages:

Evidentiality becomes manifest through the use of linguistic markers called evidentials.

Evidentials are defined as grammatical markers encoding different types of justifications and allowing the speaker to point out that the information conveyed to his / her interlocutor is derived from an unspecified third instance, from hearsay, from a clue or a reasoning (Guentchéva, 2004: 13). However, evidentials are also used to indicate that the information in the statement is based on direct experience, either visual or auditory.

Willett (1988: 57) reveals the subdivisions of evidentiality; this classification, further studied by Dendale & Tasmowski (2001: 343), can be presented as follows:

Types of evidence: direct evidence – visually or auditorily acknowledged; indirect – reported evidence (statements of a third instance, hearsay, folklore); – inferred evidence (results, reasoning).

All languages have their ways of pointing to the information source, but evidentiality as grammatical category exists in a limited range of languages. Having as criterion the existence of evidentiality as a grammatical category, Lazard (2001: 360) establishes three major classes of languages:

1) languages (such as English) where evidentiality is lexically marked through items such as: allegedly, people say that, etc.

Well Schaeffer it seems had just found the latest article from the

Smithsonian. (Chafe and Nichols, 1986: 268) 2) languages which are on the way of making evidentiality a

grammatical category (we are talking about the languages where the evidential meaning isn’t conveyed by a specific form, but it is rendered by a different form which doesn’t have the evidential value as a basic function). For instance, in Eastern Armenian, the perfect tense whose main value is to refer to a past situation whose consequence is felt in the present, may acquire, in particular contexts, evidential values:

Neroy eyir Garegin axr č-harcr-i ēl t’e onc ē Excusing be:IMPER Garegin but NEG-ask-AOR:1SG even

that how be:3SG:PRS

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aŕoyĵut’yun-d, asum1en2 çanr viravor es3 eyel4… Čišt ē ?

health-POSS2 tell :PRS :3PL1,2 seriously injured be:PRF:2SG… true is?

“Excuse me, Garegin, I didn’t even ask how you are. I’ve been told you were seriously injured. Is it true? (Kozintseva, 1995: 411)

3) languages which have the grammatical category of evidentiality; it means that in these languages, the verbal form contains a morpheme meant to indicate the information source. However, when taking into account these languages, there is an important distinction to be made: there are, on the one hand, the languages where evidentials are necessarily included in any verbal form (Tuyuca) and, on the other hand, the languages that allow an opposition between an evidential register and a neutral register, unmarked in terms of evidentiality; in the latter case, the speaker can choose between the two registers:

Exemple 1: Tuyuca díiga apé-wi (I saw him play) díiga apé-ti (I heard the game and him, but I didn’t see it or him) díiga apé-yi (I have seen evidence that he played: his distinctive shoe

print) díiga apé-yigi (I obtained the information from someone else) díiga apé-hĩyi (It is reasonable to assume that he did)

(Guentchéva, 2004:15) Exemple 2: Western Armenian sir-ac en [love-PFT AUX 3PL] (they have loved) – an evidentially

unmarked statement sir-er en [love-EVID AUX3PL] (they have loved (EVID)) – an

evidentially marked statement (Donabédian, 2001: 422)

In English however, an utterance such as John came back home doesn’t show where the speaker has got the information from: are we dealing with a visual source (the speaker was actually able to see John come home), with an auditory source (the speaker has been told that John came home) or with inferred knowledge (since his coat is hung near the door)?

According to Aikhenvald (2003), evidentiality is defined as a linguistic category having as correspondent an entire system of evidentials. This category refers to the nature of the evidence sustaining a statement. The information which is not personally observed by the speaker (unlike the information derived from visual, auditory or even olfactory experience) may be presented in discourse as either resulting from an inference or as reported knowledge. For the latter category, Aikhenvald makes use of the term reportative evidentials which include both hearsay evidentials (in this case,

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the reported information may or may not be accurate) and quotative evidentials (the reported information is accurate and it is not open to any interpretation).

Exemple 2: Shipibo language Aronkiai. a-ronki-ai do-REPRT-INCOMPL "It is said that she will do it." / "She says that she will do it."

(Valenzuela 2003: 39) In Romanian and French, evidentiality cannot be considered a

grammatical category since it is expressed in diverse ways (including tense forms, modals, lexical items) and it is always optional. This paper focuses on the Romanian lexical structures meant to point out that the knowledge presented in the statement is taken from doxa or folklore with the view to analyse their equivalents occurring in the French translation.

Corpus analysis Amintiri din copilărie / Memories of my Boyhood reveals the picture of the village life and traditional customs, described with a tempered wisdom and humour. Therefore, the frequent use of proverbs or sayings appears as a constant technique employed by the writer in order to create a discourse that fully match village people’s mentality and behaviour. These proverbs and sayings taken from doxa or folklore may be directly introduced in the discourse; yet, more often than not, they are preceded by linguistic structures, such as: vorba ceea, which we consider as belonging to the large category of lexical reportative evidentials.

In this paper, doxa and folklore encompass the common beliefs and popular opinions that people take for granted since self-evident. These opinions can take different discursive forms when they are meant to be transmitted:

- sayings: witty thoughts, general observations regarding the functioning of the society, given in a popular language, in a metaphorical or non-metaphorical outfit: Ursul nu joacă de bună voie. De plăcinte râde gura / De vărzare şi mai tare.

- proverbs: linguistic statements with generic value which refer, usually metaphorically, to a particular situation; the popular trace is not as obvious as in the sayings: Paza bună trece primejdia rea.

- songs: rhymed lines presented as belonging to a popular Romanian song: Fă-mă, Doamne, val de tei / Si m-aruncă-ntre femei!

- knowledge of the world orally transmitted from generation to generation: Si cum stam eu şi mă chiteam în capul meu, că şerpe cu pene nu poate

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să fie – după cum auzisem, din oameni, că se află prin scorburi câteodată şi şerpi – unde nu mă îmbărbătez în sine-mi şi iar bag mâna să scot pupăza pe ce-a fi…

A very recurrent reportative evidential used by Ion Creangă is vorba ceea which introduces paremiological structures such as sayings or proverbs. This nominal phrase has a series of equivalents in French; they are centred on the verb dire / say and have as subject on / people pointing to the fact that the information presented reflects certain ideas deeply rooted in the speakers’ linguistic conscience, ideas that are transmitted from one generation to the other: est-ce qu’on ne dit pas, comme on dit, comme on le dit, on dit bien, comme on dirait, vous savez ce qu’on dit, on a bien raison de le dire. Vorba ceea: Se ţine ca râia de om. / Comme on le dit: rien ne s’attache à vous comme la gale.

The questions that arise are: is the choice of a certain equivalent structure made according to the information transmitted by the statement or does the use of so many equivalents result mainly from the desire to avoid repetition (although the repetition of the same structure occurs in the original text)?

The most frequent equivalent of the Romanian evidential vorba ceea is comme on dit and its variant comme on le dit introducing short rhymed poems endowed with a proverbial meaning or proverbs and sayings illustrating people’s wisdom: Vorba ceea: De plăcinte râde gura; De vărzare şi mai tare. / Comme on dit : Les feuilletés, Ça me plaît. Les tartes aux choux, J’en suis fou. Vorba ceea: paza bună trece primejdia rea. / Comme on le dit: bonne garde prévient grand danger.

The indicative present tense of the verb dire can be replaced by the conditional on dirait, pointing to a lower degree of setphraseness of the subsequent statement: Vorba ceea: - Măi Ioane, dragi ţi-s fetele? - Dragi! - Dar tu lor? - Si ele mie!... / Comme on dirait: - Alors, Ion, les filles te plaisent? - Oui. - Et toi, tu leur plais ? - Si elles me plaisent!

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In this example, we are not dealing with a popular opinion, but with a conversational exchange that took place so many times in the speaker’s life that it became memorable.

It seems appropriate to take into account the rest of the equivalents used by the translator to render the evidential vorba ceea. a) When vorba ceea is followed by a short rhymed distique having a proverbial value, the English equivalent may also be est-ce qu’on ne dit pas like in the following example: Vorba ceea: Decât codaş în oraş Mai bine în satul tău fruntaş. / Est-ce qu’on ne dit pas: Plutôt qu’en ville le dernier, Sois au village le premier. b) The sole association of the verb dire and the subject on doesn’t seem to be enough to indicate that the knowledge transmitted is derived from people’s wisdom; therefore, the structure on dit is reinforced either by the use of comme (cf. supra), by the use of the adverb bien: on dit bien, on a bien raison de le dire: Vorba ceea: Au tunat şi au adunat. / On dit bien: qui se ressemble s’assemble. Dar vorba ceea: poţi opri vântul, apa şi gurile oamenilor ? / Mais on a bien raison de le dire: peut-on arrêter le vent, l’eau et la langue des gens? or by involving the reader in admitting that he / she shares the same cultural and linguistic background: vous savez ce qu’on dit: Vorba ceea: Lasă-l, măi! L-aş lăsa eu, dar vezi că un mă lasă el acum! / Vous savez ce qu’on dit: Lâche-le, voyons ! Je le lâcherais bien, mais c’est lui qui ne veut plus me lâcher ! c) In other cases, the translator wants the English structure to be closer to the Romanian phrase and he (Yves Augé) tries to find the proper equivalent for the word vorba. The equivalents thus identified are proverb and dictum, since he is convinced that the statements belong to the aforementioned paremiological units: S-apoi vorba ceea: nu şedea că-ţi şade norocul. / Et puis, vous connaissez le proverbe: Quand on s’arrête, la chance s’arrête aussi. S-apoi nu ştii că este o vorbă: Dacă-i copil să se joace; dacă-i cal, să tragă; şi dacă-i popă să cetească…/ Et puis, ne connais-tu pas le dicton: Tout enfant joue, tout cheval tire, tout pope chante? However, if we closer analyse the statement considered to be a dictum, we may notice that it does not respect the main feature of the dictum, namely, to be [-H], i.e. not to refer to humans, neither directly nor metaphorically. (Zumthor apud Anscombre, 1994: 98). Therefore, the statement should

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probably have been treated as a saying which gives general observations regarding our society. d) Vorba ceea may be rendered by covert evidential structures which indirectly indicate that we are dealing with a proverb: Vorba ceea: nu-i Tanda şi-i Manda; nu-i teiu-beleiu, ci-i beleiu-teiu…de curmeiu. / Tout ça, c’est compère et compagnon, bonnet blanc et blanc bonnet.

When the evidential vorba ceea in introduced in the discourse by a certain connector, it can be found in the French translation: Dar vorba ceea: Ursul nu joacă de bună voie. / Mais, comme on dit: l’ours ne danse pas pour son plaisir.

Very rarely, it happens that vorba ceea has no equivalent in the French translation, in which case the proverbial structure is directly inserted in the discourse and « Sa notoriété seule garantit dans ce cas son statut de citation, dénonçant ainsi le texte comme polyphonique»1. (Schapira, 2000 : 90) Dar vorba ceea: dacă te-ai băgat în joc, trebuie să joci! / Mais quand on est entré dans la danse, il faut danser !

It may occur that the information transmitted should belong to the folklore, in which case the evidential structure is povestea cântecului / comme le dit la chanson: Povestea cântecului: Fă-mă, Doamne, val de tei Si m-aruncă-ntre femei! / Comme le dit la chanson: Dieu, fais-moi feuille de charmille Et me jette parmi les filles!

Another structure having an obviously evidential value is centred on the verb a auzi / hear pointing to the way the speaker has got the information, namely, through reported discourse. In this case, we are not dealing with a proverb like structure, but with a statement describing the proper behaviour under a certain circumstance. Auzisem eu din oameni, că dacă vrei să nu te muşte câinii, şi să te las în pace, cum îi vezi că sar la tine, să te tupilezi la pământ, şi să-i laşi să te latre cât le place, fără să te urneşti din loc. / J’avais entendu dire que si on veut que les chiens ne vous mordent pas et vous fichent la paix, il faut, quand on voit qu’ils vous attaquent, se tapir par terre et les laisser aboyer tout leur soûl sans bouger…

1 Its notoriety alone guarantees in this case its (proverbial structure) statute of quotation, thus denouncing the text as being polyphonic.

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In other situations, people’s wisdom is embodied by a specific character who seems to be the very source of knowledge: Vorba tatei/ Comme le dit mon père. Vorba unei babe / comme le dit une vieille. The function of comme, in this case, is to attest the conformity of a discourse to its source (Riegel, 1994 : 515) Vorba tatei : condacul umple sacul şi troparul, hambarul, măi băiete! / Comme le dit mon père: le condac emplit le sac, la cantique la boutique, mon garçon!

It is to be noticed that the Romanian structures with evidential value bear the mark of the popular register of language, while the French counterparts belong to the standard language. If French wins in terms of the number of possible structures used to render the Romanian form vorba ceea, it loses from the point of view of the popular register that cannot be identified at the level of the reportative evidential markers. Conclusions Our analysis revealed that the reportative evidential vorba ceea is rendered in French by a series of equivalents based on the verb dire. The choice of an item out of the evidential paradigm seems to be mainly dictated by the need of variation and less by the understanding of the respective phraseological units. This variation may be due to the fact that French seems to lack such a nominal structure with a deep evidential value which bears, at the same time, the mark of the popular register of language. This gap in translating the structure is somehow filled by the large number of equivalents identified and used.

The translator often chooses to involve the reader in translating vorba ceea. Using the second person pronoun in either singular or plural, the translator points to the fact that the reader shares the same cultural background as the speaker.

When the information transmitted does not take the form of a proverb or a saying, but it is knowledge about the world, reportative evidentials change both in Romanian and French: auzisem eu din oameni / j’avais entendu dire.

In a particular situation, we can see the translator’s concern to indicate, through the use of the conditional mood instead of the indicative, that the information communicated does not belong to the doxa or folklore, but to the speaker’s linguistic universe.

A particular situation to be mentioned is when the saying is introduced in the original discourse by a reportative evidential while in French the saying is directly introduced without any items with evidential value.

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To sum up, we may say that the more numerous French reportative evidentials used in translating Memories of My Boyhood are trying to render the Romanian vorba ceea without being yet able to seize all its aspects; this explains why the popular mark of the Romanian vorba ceea is lost in translation.

French equivalents of Romanian reportative evidentials used in this paper

Comme on dit ; comme on le dit; comme on dirait Est-ce qu’on ne dit pas Vous connaissez le proverbe On dit bien Vous savez ce qu’on dit

Vorba ceea

On a bien raison de le dire Vorba tatei, vorba unei babe Comme le dit mon père, comme le dit

une vieille S-apoi nu ştii că este o vorbă Ne connais-tu pas le dicton Povestea ceea Vous connaissez le dicton Povestea cântecului Comme le dit la chanson Auzisem eu din oameni, după cum auzisem din oameni

J’avais entendu dire

References Aikhenvald, A. Y. & R. M. W. Dixon (eds.). (2003). Studies in evidentiality.

Typological studies in language (Vol. 54). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Anscombre, J.-C. (1994). Proverbes et formes proverbiales : valeur évidentielle et argumentative. In Langue française no 102 : 95-107

Chafe, W. (1986). Evidentiality in English Conversation and Academic Writing. In W. Chafe & J. Nichols (Eds) Evidentiality: The Linguistic Coding of Epistemology. Volume XX: 261-272. New Jersey: Alex Publishing Corporation Norwood

Dendale, P. & L. Tasmowski. (2001). Introduction: Evidentiality and related notions. In Journal of Pragmatics 33: 339-348

Donabédian, A. (2001). Towards a semasiological account of evidentials: An enunciative approach of –er in Modern Western Armenian. . In Journal of Pragmatics 33: 421-442

Guentchéva, Z. (2004). La notion de médiation dans la diversité des langues. In Les Médiations Langagières, vol. I, Des faits de langue aux discours. Actes du colloque international La médiation : marquages en langue et en discours: 11-33. Publications de l’Université de Rouen

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Jacobson, R. (1957). Shifters, verbal categories, and the Russian verb. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press

Kozintseva, N. (1995). Modern Eastern Armenian. München: Lincom Lazard, G. (2001). On the grammaticalization of evidentiality. In Journal of

Pragmatics 33: 359-367 Riegel, M. et alii (1994). Grammaire méthodique du français. Paris: Presses

Universitaires de France Schapira, C. (1999). Les stéréotypes en français : proverbes et autres formules. Paris:

Ophrys Valenzuela, P. M. (2003). Evidentiality in Shipibo-Konibo, with a comparative

overview of the category in Panoan. In A. Y. Aikhenvald & R. M. W. Dixon (Eds.) Studies in evidentiality. Typological studies in language, Vol. 54: 33-61

Willett, T. (1988). A crosslinguistic survey of the grammaticalization of evidentiality. In Studies in Language 12: 51-97.

Corpus Creangă, I. (1965). Opere / Œuvres. Deuxième édition. Bucureşti: Meridiane. Traduit

en français par Yves Augé

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Daniela ŞORCARU Context(s) and Vocabulary in Translating


It is impossible to indicate the size of vocabulary that a person needs for translating, because there are a lot of aspects depending on the text type and the audience for which a translation is produced. Some people claim that a translator must know a minimum of 50,000 words, but this does not say anything about the active and passive vocabulary. The only way to test lexical adequacy is to determine how many times translators need to look up the meanings of words on a typical page of text. If, for example, people have to look up an average of six words per page such persons are clearly not ready to start translating as either free-lance or in-house professionals. Their progress will be so slow that they will never make a living out of their work, and their looking up so many words means that they are very likely to misunderstand a source text. In order to translate efficiently and accurately translators should not have to look up more than one or two words per page.

A well-trained translator can usually handle texts with greater stylistic effectiveness in an oral process. Such a procedure, however, also requires considerable practice. Most professional translators try to specialize in translating certain types of texts, for example, technology, law, merchandising, drama, novels, and history.

In general, people working in multilingual communication tend to be either translators or interpreters, but some translators find that it is beneficial to also do some interpreting as well, since it provides excellent opportunities to keep abreast of the new developments in specialized fields. And, likewise, interpreters often benefit greatly from translating, since the precision that is required sharpens their interpreting skills.

Even though a translator may be able to find a rare term in a dictionary, this does not mean that he or she is likely to discover the

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correct meaning for a particular context, because no dictionary ever contains all the range of usage or defines meaning in completely precise ways. Most competent translators, however, seldom use bilingual dictionaries, since monolingual ones are more likely to provide more satisfactory contexts and define meanings in precise and helpful ways.

All communication, whether within or across languages, involves some kind of interpretation. This is what Steiner had in mind when he said that “inside or between languages, human communication equals translation.” (1975:47) A source text (ST) is not a static piece of language but an expression of the source language (SL) author’s in-tention, to be interpreted by the translator as receiver of the SL message and then recreated for the target language (TL) readership. Competence in translating, therefore, presupposes the ability on the part of the translator to interpret the function of the SL text and to render it appropriately in the TL.

Nevertheless, another important aspect has to be taken into consideration if a text is judged to be wholly appropriate in the TL, and that is the context. Language does not occur in a vacuum; it is subject to influence from factors in its socio-cultural context. The overall meaning of an utterance has to be established pragmatically, which means taking into account not only the addressee’s intentions and the underlying communicative motivations but also the participants in the speech act, the topic and the setting.

The context is a source of meaning for every language event since it gives the hearer or reader a frame of reference within which to interpret what has been uttered or written. The interpretation of a word depends very much on the context of the utterance.

Originally, the term context was used exclusively to refer to the words and sentences that “go with” a text, “con-text” in the strict sense of the word. A text is a complex entity consisting of more than a sum of its parts as it is made up of a web of interdependent relationships which confer meaning on each other and can only be interpreted in relation to each other. But contextual features are also to be found in what goes on in the total envi-ronment beyond the physical realization of language. We can therefore distinguish between the co-text, the linguistic context, and the context of situation, the extra-linguistic one. Making sense of a message thus involves interpreting situational as well as linguistic clues. Consider the example of Alt. Although this particular text only consists of one word, it is a meaningful unit with a well-defined function. The question is whether it should be translated into English as Halt or as Stop. The answer is to be found in its communicative environment (i.e. in its context of situation). If it is, for instance, on a sign on the roadside then the appropriate translation is Stop; if

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it is said by a soldier standing guard, then it is Halt. In both cases the purpose or function of the text is a warning or an injunction and it is the context which determines the different translations.

The co-text / context of situation distinction was first made by the anthropologist Malinowski (1923) in his theory of context, interestingly enough, in relation to translation. Malinowski was faced with the problem of how to illustrate his ideas on the remote culture of a group of South Pacific islanders to an English-speaking public. He had transcribed a series of texts in the islanders’ language but could see that they were so intimately linked to the cultural background that it was impossible to render them satisfactorily in English without including reference to it. Various alternatives were open to him: free translation, which was intelligible to an English audience but gave no insights into the source language and culture; literal translation, which conveyed the flavour of the original but was unintelligible to English readers; or translation with an extended commentary. The last solution proved the most acceptable by placing the texts within their environment. The translation with commentary was able to provide information not only about the immediate situation in which they were uttered but also about the total cultural background which lay behind them and which determined their significance. The former was termed by Malinowski the context of situation and the latter was termed the context of culture: both, he believed, were crucial to the in-terpretation of the text.

These two notions are valid for every culture and every situation and are therefore an integral part of the translation process. Italian and English are not widely differing languages or cultures, so we do not normally need to resort to translation with commentary. But when we translate we need to interpret the meaning of the original text in its entirety, and this includes its context of situation and context of culture.

Awareness of cultural differences and similarities is essential to the interpretation of meaning. Culture has generally been taken to refer to the personal development of a cultivated mind (as in “she’s such a cultured person”) or knowledge of a country’s history and institutions as contributions to human civilisation (as in the “cultural heritage of Great Britain”). Here, however, culture is used in the sociolinguistic and anthropological sense to mean all socially-conditioned aspects of human life: the way of life of a society. According to the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Semiotics (Sebeok 1986),

“Culture is the totality of the signifying systems by means of which mankind, or a particular group, maintains its cohesiveness (its values and identity and its interaction with

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the world). These signifying systems ... comprise not only all the arts (literature, cinema, theatre, painting, music etc.), the various social activities and behaviour patterns prevalent in the given community (including gesture, dress, manners, ritual, etc.), but also the established methods by which the community preserves its memory and its sense of identity (myths, history, legal systems, religious beliefs, etc.).” Language is an integral part of culture and not an isolated

phenomenon. The relevance of this to translation lies in the extent to which culture conditions people’s behaviour and is reflected in the language they speak. An extreme view, formulated by Edward Sapir and Benjamin L. Whorf in the 1920s and 1930s, claimed that the language people speak determines their perception of reality as thought is conditioned by language. This principle of language relativity, or the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, as the theory has come to be called, naturally raised the whole question of the translatability of texts. If language moulds thought so that a community’s way of thinking and conceptualizing are determined by the language they speak, it follows that its thought processes are culture-specific and translation is impossible. No cross-cultural communication can take place because speakers of the TL culture will not be able to conceptualize reality in the same way as SL speakers do. Colour terms and kinship terms are often cited as examples.

The other extreme is represented by Chomsky’s principle of language universals. Translation entails the recoding of surface structures from ST to TT. The underlying deep semantic structure of the ST remains intact in the TT as it is non-linguistic and therefore universal. In theory, this signifies that any meaning can be conveyed from one language to another, and that any kind of translation is possible.

A more moderate view that enjoys wider acceptance is that each language draws its lexical distinctions while tending to reflect the culturally important features of objects, institutions and activities in the society in which the language operates.

According to this view, the translatability of a text depends on the degree to which it is embedded in its own culture. The more culture-bound a text is, the more difficult it is to translate or rather, the more scope there is for modification. The less culture-bound a text is, on the other hand, the less it needs to be adapted to suit the TL readership and the simpler it is to translate without any or minimum information loss.

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Consider the following texts selected from Creanga’s Amintiri din copilarie / Memories of My Boyhood:

ST1: Căci trebuie să vă spun că la Humuleşti torc şi fetele şi băieţii, şi femeile şi bărbaţii; şi se fac multe giguri de sumani, şi lăi, şi de noaten, care se vând şi pănură, şi cusute; şi acolo, pe loc, la negustori armeni, veniţi înadins din alte târguri: Focşani, Bacău, Roman, Târgu-Frumos, şi de pe aiurea, precum şi pe la iarmaroace în toate părţile. Cu asta se hrănesc mai mult humuleştenii, răzăşi fară pământuri, şi cu negustoria din picioare: vite, cai, porci, oi, brânză, lână, oloiu, sare şi făină de popuşoi; sumane mari, genunchere şi sărdace; iţari, bernevici, cămeşoaie, lăicere şi scorţuri înflorite; ştergare de burangic alese, şi alte lucruri, ce le duceau lunea în târg de vânzare, sau joia pe la mănăstirile de maice, cărora le vine cam peste mână târgul.

(p. 48) ST2: Noroc de bunicul! „Şi scroambele iste a voastre îs pocite”, zise el scoţându-mă repede, murat pănă la pele şi îngheţat hăt bine, căci năboise apa în toate părţile; şi iute mi-a scos ciubotele din picioare, că se făcuse bocnă.

TT1: By the way, I ought to tell you that in Humuleşti the spinning was done by both girls and boys, women and men; and the village made many rolls of cloth and homespun of grey wool which were sold, by the yard or made up into garments, to Armenian merchants who came for the purpose from other towns: Focşani, Bacău, Roman, Târgu-Frumos and elsewhere. Our cloth was sold either in the village or at fairs all over the country. The inhabitants of Humuleşti lived chiefly by this. They were landless free peasants and itinerat merchants, trading in cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, cheese, wool, oil, salt ad maize flour; cloth coats-big ones, reaching down to the knees, and short ones-; tight trousers, white cloth trousers, nightgowns; carpets, either square, with floral designs, or narrow runners; spreads made of local silk with woven patterns, and sundry other things. These they took on Mondays to market or on Thursdays to convents, because the fairs were not easy for the nuns to get to.

(p. 49) TT2: Thank God, Grandfather was there! “Now, those worn-out boots of yours are just too silly,” he said, quickly lifting me out of the water, soaked to the skin and frozen to the bone, for water had leaked in everywhere. He quickly took off my shoes,

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„Opinca-i bună, săraca! îţi şede piciorul hodinit, şi la ger huzureşti cu dânsa”. Şi pănă a vorbit aceste, eram şi învălit într-o sarică ghiţoasă de Caşina, băgat într-o desagă pe cal, purces pe drum, şi hai la Pipirig.

(pp. 26-28)

which were frozen stiff. “A good oldfashioned wrap-around boot’s the thing! Your foot feels comfortable in it and when it’s frosty you’re as snug as can be.” In the time it took to say this I found myself already wrapped up in a fluffy shepherd’s coat from Casina, crammed into a bag on horseback, on and away to Pipirig.

(pp. 27-29)

It is obvious that the translatability of these texts depends on the degree to which they are embedded in the Romanian culture. And there are a lot of elements specific to the Romanian culture such as răzeş, noaten, sumane, iţari, sărdace, bernevici, cămeşoaie, lăicere, scorţuri înflorite, scroambe, pocite, opincă, ghiţoasă, etc.

The relationship between language use and the context of situation identified by Malinowski was further developed by the linguist, J.R. Firth, who saw linguistics essentially as the study of meaning in terms of how language functions in context. He therefore worked out a set of variables which he felt had to be present in the context of situation for meaningful interaction to take place: the participants in the situation, the action taking place (verbal and non-verbal), other relevant features of the situation and the effect of the verbal action.

A similar set of variables for describing the context of situation includes: the form and content of the message, the setting, the participants, the intent and effect of the communication, the key, the medium, the genre, and the norms of interaction. This view of language goes beyond its formal properties to include the context of situation and the participants in acts of communication. In order to communicate effectively language users need to produce utterances which are both linguistically correct and appropriate to the socio-cultural context.

Both discourse and text refer to any stretch of language that has unity. This unity comes from the surrounding text or it can be interpreted according to the knowledge of world outside language. Some linguists use discourse to refer to language as a piece of communication within the context of situation and text to denote the formal devices for establishing connections between sentences in their co-text. Thus, on a functional level an utterance is contextual when it is

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set within the real-world environment (its context of situation) and on a different level when it is linked to other sentences that precede and follow it in a larger unit (text or linguistic context). The same piece of language can, therefore, be considered from two different perspectives: seeing a piece of language as discourse means focusing on the pragmatic coherence that links utterances in communication; analyzing the same piece of language as text involves focusing on the formal (linguistic and semantic) cohesiveness which links sentences.

A recent view of text and discourse envisages texts as particular instances of communication within a more general context of discourse, i.e. texts are regarded as manifestations of discourses and the meanings of discourses, and the sites of attempts to resolve particular problems. This is a useful terminological distinction to use with reference to translation, since it provides an opportunity to see how particular instances of discourse may be realized in actual texts. It is, besides, complementary to the former text / discourse dichotomy.

When we translate a text, we approach it as an integrated whole. The translation process entails much more than rendering the meaning of a sequence of isolated words, phrases or sentences into the TL. A text has unity and its meaning is interpreted not simply as a sum of the sentences or clauses that comprise it but as a combination of these to form a new, overall meaning. Translators need to be aware not only of the relationships within clauses and sentences, but also of how the text is organized as a whole, beyond sentence boundaries. It is the text, therefore, and not the word or sentence which is the unit of translation. Vocabulary and grammar are, of course, important to translation but they should be seen from a different standpoint: as components of a text within a context, whose meaning is to be decoded and re-encoded according to the overall text. The translation process starts from a given text, the text analysis is performed and its final product is a new text in another language. This is why it is so important to read the whole ST before translating it.

The fact that translation is seen as a textual activity implies that translators need to activate their competence in analyzing and organizing discourse beyond the sentence in each of the two languages they are working with. Awareness of how communication takes place in the separate languages is a precondition for placing them in contact. Under-standing how elements in the ST concur to produce a given meaning involves reading comprehension skills. But translation also requires writing skills if the TT is to read as a meaningful whole. The interlingual skill that is called into play in translation is, of course, comparative text analysis:

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knowing how different languages use textual elements to produce the same overall meaning and effect.

References Bantaş, A., Croitoru, E. (1998). Didactica traducerii, Bucureşti: Ed. Teora Basnett, S. (1991). Translation Studies, London and New York: Routledge Bell, R. (1991). Translation and Translating. Theory and Practice, London and New

York: Longman Creanga, I. (1978). Amintiri din copilarie / Memories of My Boyhood, translated by Ana

Cartianu and R. C. Johnston, Bucuresti: Minerva Publishing House Croitoru, E. (1996). Interpretation and Translation, Galaţi: Editura Porto Franco Gentzler, E. (1993). Contemporary Translation Theories, London and New York:

Routledge Hatim, B. and Mason, I. (1992). Discourse and the Translator, London and New York:

Longman Malinowski, B. (1922). Argonauts of Western Pacific, London: Routledge Nida, E. (2001). Contexts in Translating, Amsterdam/ Philadelphia: John Benjamin’s

Publishing Company Sebeok, Th. (1986). Contributions to the Doctrine of Science, Bloomington: IN

Research Center of Language and Semiotics Studies Steiner, G. (1975). After Babel: Aspects of Language in Translation, London: Oxford

University Press .

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Adriana TEODORESCU Types and Modes of Interpreting

“Dimitrie Cantemir” Christian University of Bucureşti, ROMANIA Faculty of Tourism and Commercial Management of Constanţa, ROMANIA

1. Defining language interpreting Interpretation refers to the act of communication between two or more linguistic communities, where the speaker uses the source language and the listener – by means of interpretation – receives the message in the target or his native language. Interpretation has been one of the oldest professions in the world, since different languages have always been spoken by people coming from different linguistic communities.

The performer of this kind of communication is the interpreter who has to render the message from the source language into the target language as adequately and as true-to-fact as possible, using his skills and his cultural and linguistic knowledge. The role of the interpreter is to mediate the communication process, to help participants who belong to different linguistic communities to understand each other and to share information. A professional interpreter needs not only excellent linguistic skills, acquired through a lot of training and experience, but also social skills. He has to understand not only two different languages, but two different cultures with their customs, beliefs, values, worldview, history, political life, etc. Analytical skills, mental dexterity, exceptional memory are also important.

2. Modes of interpreting

Consecutive interpreting This mode of interpreting is appropriate in smaller settings, such as seminars, workshops, negotiations, and it is performed in formal and well-

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organized settings. The audience is usually limited to 20 participants. In consecutive interpreting, the interpreter speaks when the source language speaker has paused and sits next to the source language speaker, in direct visual contact with both the speaker and the audience. The speech is divided into short messages, and the messages are delivered “one-after-the-other”, in a consecutive manner. The interpreter listens, takes notes, and when the source language speaker pauses, he renders the message into the target language, with utmost fidelity and more synthetically than the original speaker. The interpreter’s output has to be concise, clear and coherent, and should not be longer than the original speech. (Seleskovitch 1978)

A very important skill for consecutive interpreting, the key element, is note-taking, as the interpreter has to remember a whole paragraph for example, without loss of detail, and to render it in the target language. Consequently, note-taking becomes a matter of utmost importance for a good interpreter. Many interpreters develop their own note-take systems, based on signs and symbols, not on words. An effective note-taking system has to be flexible, formulaic, semiotic, structurally stable, and imaginative. It has to use abbreviations, symbols, acronyms, arrows (to indicate relations between ideas), and grammatical endings in order to mark grammatical information.

Consecutive interpretation involves three distinct phases: • The listening and comprehension phase • The analytical processing and note-taking phase • The rendition phase

The first two phases take place at the same time. While the interpreter listens to the speech he also takes notes and processes the meaning of the message he has to render in the target language. The listening stage requires concentration as the interpreter has to memorize what is being said, to pay attention to the type of discourse, to be aware of the rhetorical or communicative structure, to identify difficult phrases. The comprehension of the speech is related to several factors, such as: accent, pronunciation, the interpreter’s knowledge of the topic, the speaker’s mindset, visibility and audibility conditions. Simultaneous interpreting Simultaneous interpreting is usually appropriate for large conferences or meetings, and it is considered the most advanced form of interpretation where the message is simultaneously delivered into the target language at the same time that the original speech is being uttered in the source

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language. Therefore, the interpreter listens and speaks at the same time. There’s a general delay in the rendered speech of a few seconds compared to the original speech, as the interpreter has to listen and understand the meaning of the whole sentence/idea before rendering it into the target language. Thus, it is a difficult task for the interpreter to render a sentence while at the same time listening and understanding the next sentence. In order to achieve a professional simultaneous interpretation, state-of-the-art equipment is required (microphones, headsets, control consoles, sound-proof booths).

Simultaneous interpreting is the most demanding type of interpreting work. So, simultaneous interpreters often work in teams, taking breaks every 20-30 minutes. Whispered interpreting In whispered (or chuchotage in French) interpreting, the interpreter whispers the message approximately at the same time the original speech is being held. He sits or stands next to the listener and there is no need for equipment. This type of interpreting is appropriate for a small audience, up to three listeners, and is often used in court situations or in other circumstances where only a small number of participants are in need of interpreting assistance.

For larger groups of up to 20 participants, a microphone and headphones are being used. The interpreter sits next to the audience and whispers into the microphone while the participants listen into the headphones. A major drawback in this situation is the lack of the booth and the fact that the interpreter is disturbed by the noise around him. His whispering also disturbs other participants who don’t need interpreting assistance. Anyway, this is used in circumstances where only a small part of the audience needs interpreting. Liaising interpreting Liaising interpreting is appropriate for immediate communication, and it is usually related to community services, hospitals, customs, police, court hearings, etc. It is usually performed in informal settings and doesn’t require interpreting equipment. It is probably the most common form of interpreting activity, as it takes place in varied settings, such as business and diplomatic meetings, sight-seeing tours and education or cultural contacts, as well as many situations in which people who are not fluent speakers of the official language of the country where they live have to communicate with the providers of public services, i.e. in legal, health,

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education, government and social services settings. Interpreting in these contexts is usually referred to as community interpreting or public service interpreting (PSI) in the UK. 3. Types of interpreting Conference interpreting Conference interpreting is the interpretation of a conference, either simultaneously or consecutively, although the advent of multi-lingual meetings has consequently reduced the consecutive interpretation. In conference settings, when the audience consists of multilingual communities, the source speech is simultaneously rendered in other languages. For example, the European Parliament, since 1 January 2007, uses no more than 23 languages. Escort interpreting Escort interpreting is appropriate for meetings, interviews, visits of delegates from another country. The interpreter meets the guest at the airport, escorts him on a tour, on a visit, to meetings, shopping etc., facilitating the communication process. This is usually liaising interpreting because the setting is not formal as in consecutive interpreting. Telephone (or Over-the-Phone) interpreting It is a common type of interpretation which allows individuals from different linguistic communities to understand each other and to interact, even if the participants find themselves in different places at the time of the meeting. It uses either consecutive or simultaneous interpreting, according to the needs of the clients. It is cheaper, it eliminates time and travel costs, and it is quicker, being increasingly used in emergency situations. It requires state-of-the-art, high-tech multimedia instruments, especially in conference calls for stable and noiseless connections.

Telephone interpreting is also used in court, and it has been proved that it is effective and especially cost cutting. Savings result because interpreters can be used for multiple assignments on the same day, and because of reduced time-and-travel costs. For example, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts reports in 2003 that the federal courts' Telephone Interpreting Program (TIP), available nationwide since 2002, has been a major cost-savings, as cases are moved in a more efficient and faster manner than when looking for interpreters to come to court hearings. Telephone interpreting is especially useful when you have a need for the more esoteric languages. TIP allows an interpreter at a remote location to

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deliver simultaneous interpretation of court proceedings for defendants and consecutive interpreting for the court record by means of a two-line telephone system. Public service interpreting Also referred to as community interpreting, public service interpreting is the type of interpreting occurring in fields such as legal, health, and local government, social, housing, environmental health, education, and welfare services. In community interpreting, there are various factors which influence the interpretation, such as the emotional content of the speech, hostile social surroundings, the relationship among participants, etc.

Public service interpreting has begun to play a vital role in helping people to understand their basic rights, to gain access to information and to express themselves in their mother tongue when dealing with legal or administrative authorities in a foreign country. Its goal is to promote better understanding between different people and cultures, while at the same time facilitating the economic and social integration of immigrant groups in their host country. Legal or court interpreting Legal or court interpreting is appropriate in courts of justice, tribunals, and wherever a legal proceeding is held. Legal interpreting can be the consecutive interpretation of witnesses' testimony for example, or the simultaneous interpretation of the entire proceeding, by electronic means, for one person or for the whole audience. The right to a interpreter for anyone who does not understand the language of the court is considered a fundamental right of the accused, especially in a criminal trial. Medical interpreting Medical interpreting is part of the public service interpreting, ensuring communication between medical staff and patients. The interpreter needs a solid knowledge of medicine, common medical procedures, and specialized terminology. It uses liaison interpreting as medical interpreting usually serves the immediate purposes of communication and it takes place in informal settings. Conclusions Interpreting deals with verbal communication, and its goal is to render a message from one language into another, in a natural and fluent manner. Interpreting has become a profession and it is used worldwide by

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international institutions which need this kind of communication services. Researchers in this field have identified two major modes of interpreting, consecutive and simultaneous interpreting, which are especially used in meetings, seminars, conferences, symposia, formal events. In addition, two other forms of interpreting, whispered and liaising interpreting, are related to the settings, social context etc., and frequently used in medical interpreting, public services interpreting, escort interpreting etc.

The interpreter is the key factor that ensures the success of this communication process. He is not only a different linguistic voice for the speaker, but also a cultural mediator. Mere linguistic fidelity is not enough for a successful interpretation. The meaning of a message involves not only the words used, but also the tone of the voice, the body language, behavior, facial expression. Therefore, they must be sensitive to the cultures associated with their languages of expertise, thoroughly understand the matter being discussed in order to accurately deliver information into the target language.

References Ionescu, D., Popa, L. (2007). Insights into Consecutive Interpreting, Polirom, Iasi Jones, R. (2002). Conference Interpreting Explained, 2nd Edition, St. Jerome Publishing Seleskovitch, D. (1978). Interpreting for International Conferences, Pen and Booth,

Washington E-resources http://www.translation-services-usa.comhttp://www.ricintl.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubashhttp://www.uscourts.gov/ttb/oct03ttb/telephone/index.html

http://www.translation-services-usa.com/

http://www.ricintl.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubash

http://www.uscourts.gov/ttb/oct03ttb/telephone/index.html

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Daniela ŢUCHEL Implicatures of Translational Direct and Mixed Quotations


1. Introduction After compiling the corpus to use in this research, we have felt prone to anchor the interpretation to three main issues according to the title: quotation, pragmatic implicature and translatology.

Firstly, it may be admitted that quotation is an interesting, (almost) philosophical topic in language study. Whenever quoting starts, it is worth keeping the view that recipients are confronted with instances of language having become self-reflective. A practicality in going public is to quote by dancing fingers in the air or by the print of single, alternatively double, quotes in writing. Intuitively, one conceives of a beautifully crafted speech as necessarily containing quotes. Probably one strong favourable impression is created by knowledgeable and honest quoters who trigger an effect of entertaining open-minded, dialogic propensities. Nothing creates a sense of trust and mutual respect as a meaningful collaboration by mingling voices and quoting explicitly or implicitly, directly, indirectly or in mixed constructions. A form of conventional implicature is scare-quoting, not exactly in our attention in this article: it applies when a standard technical term gets used in a non-standard way, the procedure being circumstantially found more appropriate than the invention of a new term. As we shall see in the examples compiled here, for written parts italicization is sometimes used instead of quotation marks, and for spoken language no obvious correlates of quotation marks exist: some of the examples occur without inverted commas. Single in alternation with double quotes is an inconsistent application just because we have been faithful to the sources, which are variegated.

Secondly, the Gricean perspective on implicature is known as conventional when the implicature comes with an enlargement of the classical approach to lexical semantic information, and as conversational,

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when implicature is of help to overcome difficulties of meaning interpretation while dealing with spontaneous exchanges of information. It is worth recalling here the standpoint expressed by Reinhard Blutner (apud Horn & Ward 2007: 3.22): “While I believe that modern semantic theories (which usually are characterized as dynamic, epistemic, and non-monotonic) make the conception of conventional implicature superfluous as an addendum to the semantic component, I do not think the same is true of conversational implicature ... [T]he proper use of conversational implicature will resolve some of the problems of lexical interpretation that remain unsolved otherwise.”

As for our third concern, we shall put together estimations of possible routes taken by translation work, remarks on the usefulness of linguistic bridges across language spheres and cultural regions, eventually the practice of adopting untranslated passages. In sum, the rhetorical impact will come from rewriting, mediating, quoting authors and citing sources. 2. Sheer pleasure of quoting To our mind, a possible motivation for users of quotes is sheer pleasure of quoting. For instance, Andrei Pleşu (DV, 232/ 28 July 2008): “Vorbea limpede, cu glas mai curând scăzut, cu o discretă patină vieux jeu.” In reconstituting the profile of an admired politician and friend, Pleşu delights in recreating the conversational tones. No less unnoticed goes the reminder of old French culture imbuing aristocracy with uppish airs so that vieux jeu may sound more acceptable than a vernacular de modă veche, alternatively de pe vremuri. French, with vieux jeu (and a few other cases to come up later, such as bon ton, comme ça, clochard), can be given unconditional licence of use, even in an English text, lacking the harshness of ‘corporate language’/ limbaj corporatist in R. Zafiu’s terminological choice; it is, for some linguists, still repulsive – it practically means that the English - or any other - language barges into a presentation in Romanian. We further exemplify with News on Labzine (19 July 2008): “Gartner ne anunţă că studiile de piaţă realizate de ei arată că, faţă de aceeaşi perioadă a anului trecut, s-au vândut cu 16 procente mai multe PC-uri, în prima jumătate a anului 2008. Principalul ‘vinovat’ pentru creştere este... notebook-ul.” The single marks for quoting internally enclose the rhetorical device and not the foreign terms, this time left unmarked.

We find writer Andrei Pleşu (DV, 230/ 10 July 2008) sometimes so much in favour with the pair of quotes as to confer the quality of belief report instead of objectivised analysis to his text. Due to the frequency of the marked or foregrounded notions, the impression persists that the reader must not take ideas at their face-value: <Stânga e, prin urmare, fundamental modernă (faţă de “tradiţionala” dreaptă) şi coextensivă ideii

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de progress ... [P]ână la revoluţia industrială, umanitatea a fost “de dreapta”, cu mici puseuri de “preistorie” a stângii ... Raţionalismul ateu (sau credinţa “luminată”) ...> etc. <Linia despărţitoare dintre cele două “sisteme” este ...> etc.” In other words, Pleşu’s quotations create opaque contexts for what might otherwise be current notions in a transparent context. Pleşu’s paradigm discloses his becoming reflective while handling the message and putting a critical distance between observed history and observer of history. The mix-quoting managed by Pleşu functions side by side with other devices: naming, demonstrating, denoting and connoting, indexing, quantifying – practically, all the paraphernalia of a rhetor.

Moreover, when the density of the quotation marks goes higher than usual, we cannot stop thinking of the science of physics, with the theoretical view that every particle has a corresponding antiparticle; in life every fragment of realia has a corresponding bit of fiction, and, in general, the balance between two complementary parts is apt to make the universe intelligible. With a quotation overuse, we can subsequently and arguably diagnose a wish to equalize solidity of our superior knowledge of the world with speculation brought around by our intuitive powers.

Here are other cases of using implicit and explicit, marked or unmarked quotes with a sort of gusto. In DV (235/ 14 Aug. 2008), L. Terzea-Ifrim composes a text that blends vocabulary from three idioms – therefore, a challenge to a translation task, additional to the interpretive claim posed by the quoted part: „Practicile sportive ‘de întreţinere’ proliferează, de bon ton fiind antrenorul personal. Cu atâtea mijloace la dispoziţie, dacă eşuezi în competiţia pentru look eşti culpabil.”

The rubric Actualitatea on the last page of RL (30/ 01 Aug. 2008) contains a reference to the editorial of the summer edition of Lettre Internationale, in which B. Elvin writes about the novel, “gen cu încă bune resurse de supravieţuire: romanul comme ça, fără etichete.” The message is worded in such a manner as to contain its own explanation. Comme ça and fără etichetă function synonymically, yet one cannot say they appear tautological or pleonastic.

George(s) Banu contributes to DV (234/ 07 Aug. 2008) a text in French, turned into Romanian by Magdalena Boiangiu; we further reproduce a passage combining different uses for quoting marks: “Ivo van Hove reuneşte într-un ‘ciclu’, folosind principiul ‘serialelor’ de televiziune, trei mari texte shakespeariene, inspirate din războaiele şi pasiunile romane: Coriolan, Iuliu Cezar, Antoniu şi Cleopatra. De-a lungul a şase ore, el (...) se înscrie explicit în linia ‘contemporaneizării’ lui Shakespeare iniţiată de Jan Kott.” We presume the three sets of single quotes to have the following functions, respectively: to recover a cultural memory of the reader’s experience with cyclicity, to seek arousal through reference to television

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watching, and to scholarly orient the message interpretation by citing indirectly a famous book with direct citation of the author’s name. Our opinion is that Banu’s use of inverted commas is superfluous and quoting is an abuse at the semantic level. Maybe it acts only as a device for highlighting words.

Motivational variety for quoting runs high. Therefore, we will continue discussing facts noticed on television, in reviewing books and writing essays.

3. Facts in connection with visual culture We open this section of the article with confessed enjoyment of the pun creating a rubric in DV – Mass Comedia – as well as approval of the diagnostic title “Deriva Televiziunii Române” (Romanian Television adrift) in DV (235/ 14 Aug. 2008), not to mention a scorching conclusion of the Agency for the Monitorization of the Press to the effect that education lowers the appetite for viewing (educaţia reduce pofta de televizor). One could only welcome this effect, if it were true.

Since visual culture is somewhat indifferent to grammatical standards, its spoken ease will make the delivery forgetful of the quoting technique. People can read and also talk without quotative intonation or the specialized quote-unquote verbal indication, also without finger-quote gestures.

Of late, Romanian television offers satisfaction to any linguist in search of unadulterated non-standard speech. There are interesting samples of suburban colloquialisms, reality shows with a stronger or weaker appearance of having set-up ingredients; there are also documentaries in need of subtitles as if explicitly admitting of comprehension difficulties. Aggressiveness and offence to the ear of viewers are toned down by speakers posing as “better” people. Unnatural elevation of vocabulary is given out by erroneous syntax. “Aş vrea să ştiu dacă se merită să fac acest pas” and “sîntem decît noi doi” are examples (here and further down in this paragraph) signalled by Rodica Zafiu in RL. Melodramatic clichés (x “este iubirea vieţii mele”) are part of the idiom of seduction, again savoury in inappropriate contextualization, as in “nu ştiu dacă corespund la asemenea cerinţă” in the intimate lover talk. The international recipe for a few notorious reality shows can thus acquire surprisingly specific forms, practically untranslatable as peculiar applications of linguistic pragmatics.

On Canadian television, the warning for improper-age viewing is thus worded: The following programme contains mature themes and is intended for older youth audience. Viewer discretion is advised. One can speculate on the conceptual interpretation of age as dictated by the instantiation of

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antonymic young-old. The concept of discretion, then, is assumed to contextually require an agent who is someone older than the old participants, that is, the elements constituting the class of comparison for the adjective old. The contraries old-young permit a non-empty middle ground where, indeed, discretion can be considered to find its proper manifestation. Precisely to those elements is the advice directed in the quoted notification. It may turn profitable for us here to consider also the Romanian warning: Acest program poate fi vizionat de copii de până la 12 ani numai cu acordul sau împreună cu părinţii ori familia. At first, one may conceive of the piece as imperfectly transposed from a different cultural and linguistic environment, owing to a number of clumsy solutions in wording: the noun ‘permission’ (acordul) leaves communication incomplete (whose permission?); the restriction communicated by the adverb (numai) is in a clash with generous permissivity twice (sau, ori) in connection with several people (o familie); yet, can the idea of ‘family’ exclude ‘parents’? Apparently this is what the text does. To go back to the parallel treatment, we remark that the two recommendations are perceived and received as quoted passages as long as the visual and the auditory stimuli reach the eyes and ears of viewers in simultaneity (a voice is reading out). The implicature of the Canadian discourse is: operate a selection of programmes. The implicature of the Romanian discourse is: contact someone or join someone before viewing. From this one can immediately see that the staging of the warning is totally different. In this light, the Canadians are more complimentary to the recipients, when contrasted to the Romanians who advocate permission-seeking and permission-giving as a result of a person’s dependence and limitations.

In the hysterical cultivation of singularity and paranoic personality cult, the Romanian address foregrounding the recipient of an ad or a tv commercial is blatant for its second-person singular pronominal form (Tu poţi fi câştigătorul ... etc.; Vacanţele tale ... etc.; Ai grijă de tine!), obviously not transposable if one considers English grammar, for example, and the neutralized distinction of number. The emotional excesses centered on what might happen to the ego are manageable mostly by the media manipulators who can confer a distinctly new feature to contemporary life: the individuating tendencies of egocentricity, excluding any intimation that one might enter severe conflicts with communal interests.

4. The bookish side In RL (24/20 June 2008), C. L. Cuţitaru reviews Herman Melville’s short story “Benito Cereno” published by Humanitas. The late captain of a ship, in consequence of a mutiny on board, never left the vessel, the victim of a cruel sort of sacrificial ritual. His bones bore an inscription on the top

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canvas: Follow your leader/ ‘Seguid vuestro jefe’/ “Urmaţi-vă conducătorul!” As can be easily imagined, the writer originally produced these two versions of the quote (the ship is Chilean and the story American) and the Romanian version, to be read also in the cited review, comes as a late rendition of the idea couched in different idioms. The non-ambiguous presentation of this direct address is without problems, whereas the case of the aged sailor in the same story, with hands full of ropes to be worked by him into a large knot, is inserted in Cuţitaru’s text with the following wording: ‘... bătrânul negru, care face noduri marinăreşti de-a lungul unei frânghii, “pentru ca alţii să le dezlege”.’ In the context of a multilingual crew, it becomes hard to say what is the presumable language of these quoted words. Melville thought of the simple-witted knotter to be speaking his vernacular, which was Spanish, but the conversational scrap is, as expected, English (to quote more extensively, the dialogue in the book is as follows: “What is it for?” “For some one else to undo”). Let us return to the sentence from RL and the justification for quoting in a mixed type with the ensuing question, ‘whose words are being reproduced?’ Several answers arise about who the quoting voice is: the Romanian translator, the American writer, the old sailor completing the knot, the translator inside the story, that is, in the case of an original utterance in Spanish to be transposed into English by the storytelling voice. This metalinguistic quandary is triggered in our mind for considerations about the pressing need felt by Cuţitaru to signal a quotation: is it the accuracy used by an exacting mind, is it the implied extension of an existential sense to everyone (see the singular use in English versus the plural ‘alţii’ in Romanian) entangling instead of disentangling things while living? The metaphor lurks in the background and generalizes notions about our futile existence and complicity, particularly if we read again how Melville described it: “Some blacks were about him obligingly dipping the strands for him, here and there, as the exigencies of the operation demanded.” In this case, the importance of using quotation marks in the book review spells out precisely the importance played by scare quotes.

Livius Ciocârlie (RL, 27/ 11 July 2008) fantasizes about a book which might have the title Un cloşard bine îmbrăcat. The French ‘clochard’ (in English, a tramp or vagrant) is the illustration of quoting without quotes, for only a speaker of French (eventually, a connoisseur of French culture) could process the message satisfactorily, basking in its connotations. The one sans domicile fixe, is as a rule interested in begging for wine and food, maybe on the metro, maybe a hobo or bum, tattered and homeless – in sum, part of the subculture of wandering people, no matter the land. Therefore, the Romanian Ciocârlie promises himself time and availability for turning

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into a “cloşard cu proprietate personală şi bine îmbrăcat” to defy conventions and sketch out the protorype of the clumsy fighter in life or of the defeated idealist. The French capitalize on the disability (etymological limping suggestion), the English on the roofless condition and Romanians on the presentation in tatters.

In his memoirs, the late Nicolaus Sombart (RL, 29/ 25 July 2008) writes about the way he used to be lectured by his German father (so, the address was obviously couched in German) when the young man’s reading practice was below required standards of behaviour: “[V]enerabilului profesor Werner Sombart care-şi citea cărţile la birou cu creionul în mână i se pare suspectă această apucătură “hedonistă” a fiului său şi desfiinţează micul colţ de rai lansând sentinţa ‘Virtutea este verticală, păcatul orizontal’.” Two specifications are necessary. Firstly, the father-son interaction is the free rendition of the critic R. Binder reviewing the son’s book; but, without the information passed on by the memoirs, the sentential participation of the father would not have been known. And this participation was, by all means, an utterance in German, not in English or in Romanian either. Secondly, the italicized parts are our contribution to signal the ties with previous discourse chunks: the anaphora of the demonstrative involves textual reference to reading books while lying (lectura la orizontală), and the reformulation in the form of the noun phrase micul colţ de rai has for an appositive the textual reference to a couch in an annex of the villa (un divan într-una din dependinţele vilei). What may deserve further consideration here is the distinct recourse to double quotes for reporting the idea of hedonism, which makes one think of a likely interpretation that the label comes from the son; yet, it could be a report of the father’s own words or the very idea of the critic reviewing the memoirs. The single quotes frame the dictum, actually a non-ambiguous attribution to the professor who, at least once, should have spoken so, quoting from folk wisdom. Briefly, one form of quoting has been decided upon for an I-language and another form for a public-language.

5. Usage and fault-finding Many critical opinions have already been circulated about what seems outrageous in the speech and writing of Romanians. For the interesting and even rhetorical way of putting it, we shall reproduce here Ioana Pârvulescu’s description of a contemporary ‘drama’: “Punctuaţia preluată după reguli străine zguduie firescul frazării, iar invazia de calcuri din engleză sufocă expresivitatea” (RL, 23/13 June 2008). This applies equally well to a range of cases approached in other articles. Let us proceed to analysing examples involving quotation as well.

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M. Vasilescu (DV, 232/ 28 July 2008) quotes in the following way, making us ask ourselves about who is the quotee for the bracketed part: ‘Ideea că oamenii care fac bani trebuie, la un moment dat, pedepsiţi (“gata, le-ajunge, au strâns destul!”) a apărut cu suficientă claritate.’ The quotation of an unattributed stretch of speech is a breach of textual fluidity. If one removes the bracketed stretch, one gets a clear and uncontradicted impression of neutrality already injected into the verbal component: the message is that no one assumes responsibility. Instead, the spoken part carries a number of assumptions, which for the unidentifiable quotee are implicatures: (1) the utterer has the requisite power to call ‘stop’; (2) the utterer disposes of a safe measurement system in matters of financial sufficiency; (3) heaping money is the effect of greed, as long as for the speaker it is enough (ajunge) and for the quoted third-person (lor, le) it is not, or the exclamation would have no foundation. As for the manner of structuring discourse, the presence of an exclamatory chunk in the proximity of ‘to punish’ (pedepsiţi) generates the implicature that stating the degree of sufficiency is a form of punishment, which is false. If we remove the bracketed chunk and place it finally, we improve upon discoursal meanings, because the function of clarification is naturally related to the notion of ‘clarity’, a word textually present, and not to the idea of punishment as such.

In RL (26/4 July 2008), ‘Cronicar’ on the back cover signals a schoolchild’s error, an amazing pleonasm, alternatively dubbed an absolute tautology, coming from an article in Observatorul cultural: „ ... de a nu permite nici amnezia memoriei şi nici abuzul acesteia”. The critical comment is aimed at amnesia and the misuse is mended by observing that a paraphrase of the idea in the form „e ca şi cum spui uitarea ţinerii de minte”. We find the fault somewhere else: two lexemes in the quoted sequence – memorie and abuz – are re-lexicalized in the English fashion (i.e. memory~amintire and abuse~folosire excesivă), while the intended meaning for the former has been „estomparea amintirilor până la dispariţia lor” and for the latter, „faptul de a te lăsa copleşit de amintiri”. Both re-uses of the lexemes are interpretable as Anglicisms misapplied in the Romanian context owing to a deflection from the Romanian dictionary definitions.

6. Untranslatables When the quoted parts conveniently fulfil their basic roles, we are faced with translatables in the absolute, such as in: “[Intelectualii, n.n.] uneori reuşesc să „pună pe agenda publică” unele probleme, dar societatea în ansamblu e ocupată acum cu altele şi tinde să nu-i mai crediteze cu prestigiul de odinioară. In parte, e şi „vina” lor: adesea, dezbaterile s-au „diluat” în dispute de orgolii ori au alunecat spre subiecte neinteresante

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pentru un public mai larg, în timp ce alte teme nu se bucură de atenţie.” (M. Vasilescu in DV, 235/ 14 Aug. 2008)

Untranslatability may occur in unexpected directions, for instance when an English term is “re-coined” in Romanian by a Romanian and when idiosyncracy may account for untranslatability. For the italicised exemplifications to come, one can identify a process of self-projection. A situation is just mentioned, and then the speaker projects himself/herself into the situation and states something with respect to that situation. L. Mândruţă writes, “Avem generaţia cool-ităţii. Contează cum pare un lucru, nu cât de util ar putea fi el comunităţii.” The same power of invention with words is shown by A. Babeţi and her creation – sarsaneliada – is patented by the Turkish sarsana, alluding to the role and significance of bags carried along by housewives in communism.

In RL (25/ 27 June 2008), Daniel Cristea-Enache authors a presentation of Sorin Stoica and his writing craft, labelling the writer as “prolific, fără a fi industrios” (a bias for ‘illegal’ loans from the English language strikes again!). There is, among other stated opinions, the appreciation given to “umorul particular, pe jumătate copilăros şi pe jumătate înţelepţit, al celui ce scrie io”. It is the final part of this description that arrests our attention: quotation without quotation marks. Who is the user of the Romanian pronoun io? Our answer is: a speaker defiant of linguistic pedantry. And why should it be laudable to air it? Our answer is: this pronominal form promotes love of history and traditions. Ultimately, what – in this particular practice – is the merit of the writer discussed? Probably because he gets closer to people in the old day, he may be closer to people in his own day.

Let us focus on another passage (in the same DV issue), with a marked presentation of quotation, this time ascribing the utterance to its originator: “Iar povestea şoferului de Dacia este povestea noastră, a (cum zicea tovarăşul Ceauşescu?) tutulor.” The occurrence of the bracketed sequence fulfils an informative role for younger readers who might miss the implicated perspective of one in the mob dominated by the reported speaker. The conclusions belong to them and are drawn on the basis of reasonable assumptions generated by the unmarked mixed quotation reproduced above.

In DV, 232/ 28 July 2008, R. Tudor writes about bicycle paths in cities, knowing that Romanian pedestrians and drivers are not perfectly accustomed with cyclists taking from their space for free movement. Being a cyclist, says R. Tudor, can urge you to suggest you also have rights to a safe and pleasant trip and the journalist concludes: ‘Una peste alta, trebuie să vedem “partea plină a trotuarului”’. Obviously, the suggested rhyming pattern with the saying partea plină a paharului cannot be easily kept up in

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English, for a glass is full and a sidewalk is crowded. Moreover, the adjectival idea of plin has to be reinterpreted for a clarification of the Romanian intended sense: ‘plinul’ is achieved by cyclists plus motorists plus pedestrians, all of them making different, yet simultaneous demands on road design (so that one forms a picture of ‘trotuar plin’).

In Gardianul (18 July 2008), in the upcoming example, the quotation has the multiple function of naming (by making reference to a human type), mentioning (by pointing to a classical story), tokening (by invoking a certain literary character), citing (by inserting an author) and quoting (by reproducing the title of the story): ‘De câte ori ne referim la învăţământul din mediul rural, simţim nevoia să ne gândim, vrând-nevrând, la amintirea lui Sadoveanu despre “Domnu’ Trandafir”.’

With our examples in this section of the article, we have hopefully shown a Romanian way of displaying context sensitivity, no matter whether the quoting part quotes a content or a concept. 7. Conclusion Quotation is a device of economy, which is still looked upon as the basic law of communication. A translational system, operating faultily or not, has to keep up a high regard for cultural consciousness and linguistic capacity to deal with both the subjective and the objective in communication. Working out roles for quotation marks (even when only guessed) will position a linguist at the semantics-pragmatics divide. Eventually, a text will not waste a word; everything serves a purpose and fits into a balance. Dealing with the observable text as if dealing with a world of effects will send the recipient of the text in search of implicated causes existing in the world outside. References Cappelen, H. & E. Lepore. (2007). Language Turned on Itself, Oxford: Oxford

University Press DV. (2008). Issues of the review Dilema veche, Bucureşti Horn, L. R. & G. Ward. (2007). The Handbook of Pragmatics. Blackwell Publishing,

2005. Blackwell Reference Online RL. (2008). Issues of the review România literară, Bucureşti





Titela VÎLCEANU Translation Theory – The Making of the Common Grounds of Humanity / Humanities

University of Craiova, ROMANIA

• Prerequisites Etymologically, translation derives from the Latin verb transducere – to carry over and it used to be referred to as translation linguarum – the translation of languages as opposed to other kinds of translation like translation studii – the translation of knowledge. Up to the middle of the 20th century, translation was considered an intellectual activity, face losing, not a science in its own right. Nevertheless, translators are aware that this kind of activity required much more than intuition and a protocol of experience, although, on the outset, translation displays an “enabling function”, being “a delegated speech governed by the assumption of equivalence” work performed by the “discreet, transparent and disenfranchised” translator-mediator (Hermans in Riccardi 2002:10).

We recognize what is happening, for instance, when translation is described by means of such metaphors as building bridges, as ferrying or carrying across, as transmission, transference, “Űber-setzung”, “trans-latio”. (Hermans in Riccardi 2002:10) Although theory of translation becomes a science in its own right

during the 1970s – 1980s and “a success story of the 1980’s” (Bassnett and Lefevere 1992:xi) - when, in the hope that this hybrid field will receive a clearly defined status, scholars call it translatology (Harris 1977), traductology (Vasquez 1977), Theory of Translation (Catford 1965, Chestermann 2000, Newmark 1988, Nida 1964, Steiner 1998, Toury 1995), Translation Studies (Bassnett 1991, Snell-Hornby 1995, Venuti 1995, Munday 2001), translemics (Alvaraz 1996), traductologie (Berman 1985, Flamand 1983) and théorie de la traduction (Ladmiral 1979, Lederer 1987, Mounin 1963, Pergnier 1993, Séleskovitch 1984) to designate a savoir dire, a reflective approach of the translation practice as opposed to translation / translating, a savoir faire, i.e. the activity or practice of translation - besides the production of the target

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language text, translators have been always concerned with the rules – linguistic and not only (the ethics of translation) governing this behaviour, trying to elaborate a viable framework.

Translation is a science because the translator has linguistic and cultural competence (intercultural communicative competence), s/he masters at least one specialism and the methodology of translation, the translator’s work means knowledge acquisition and research work. Translation is equally an art since it engages creativity, subjectivity, that hazard and primum movens that poeticians mention, and the readership’s aesthetic pleasure. Translation is a craft as the translator develops a set of techniques and strategies in order to successfully manipulate the original text. Nevertheless, the translator is not a mere skilled worker and translation is not a facsimile of the original, it unfolds the implicit meaning, the socio-cultural context in which the text is embedded (peritextually), adding an extra-value in the form of a fluent discourse. If there are recurrent problems and viable solutions, the latter are not always workable or compulsory as they cannot be identified to “ready-made templates for action” (Hermans in Riccardi, 2002: 15).

• Bible translation and the making of the common grounds of

Humanity/Humanities During the 14th and 16th centuries, the main preoccupation lies in the translation of the Bible. The translators’ role is to spread the word of God for the people’s spiritual progress and Salvation. A positive attitude to translation is to be identified since translation is not considered to be inferior to the original1 and two criteria are to be met: aesthetic and evangelistic. The translation of the Bible can be seen as the history of the Western culture in microcosm, a quest for identity on the earth where God gave man dominion. The plurality of languages (the official one, i.e. Latin and the vernacular languages) underpins layers of meanings and interpretations of the sacred text. According to Long (2005), holy texts, ideologically loaded, resist translation in the same way God resisted the imposition of a single power and language in the Babel’s legacy. The plurality of languages is to be seen as a natural and socially positive phenomenon and the Babel’s confusio linguarum is but a challenge, a felix culpa (Genette 1976:161), enhancing the emergence of nations, of national identities, alongside a supranational Christian identity and universal human values.

Lefevere (1992) raises the question of “fidus interpres” or “trustworthy interpreter” with reference to central texts to the Western culture, inaccessible to common people in their original language, and

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discusses the case of the translators of the Septuagint, widely acknowledged as a relatively “bad” translation, which, nevertheless, is still the official version used by the Greek Orthodox Church. It may seem that status supersedes quality or expertise in translation if we disregard one fundamental aspect: translation is commissioned to the translator who faces the dilemma of divided loyalties.

We can speak of a theory of speculation or of allegory – de modis significandi, rooted in St. Paul’s work and further developed by St. Jerome and St. Augustine in order to impose a set of interpretations of the sacred text (in the very spirit of hermeneutics). St. Jerome (4th century A.D. – De optimo genere interpretandi), the translator of the Greek Septuagint into the authorised Latin version Vulgate, writes about stylistic licence and heretical interpretations of the Bible in the attempt to clarify intricate meaning and allegory or parable in the religious text. According to him, meaning is captive in translation: “sed quasi captivos sensus in suam linguam victoris jure transposuit”, and Latin, the target language, dictates the rules (proprietates alterius linguae suis proprietatibus explicaret). Therefore, the most difficult task of the translator is to restore the context, expanding translation into what we call nowadays cultural studies.

Between 1380-13842, Wycliffite performs the first translation of the complete Bible in the very spirit of the theory of dominion by grace: man was immediately responsible to God and God’s law. In order that the crucial text may be accessible, the translation is done in the vernacular language. The second Wycliffite Bible is produced between 1395-1396. Chapter 15 contains an elaboration of the stages of the translation process:

- translation presupposes a collaborative effort of collecting old Bibles and glosses (nowadays, the joint effort of translators as professionals is also advisable); - a comparison of these is necessary (Wycliffe performed a second hand translation as people in the Middle Ages had access to the Bible in the Latin versions; therefore, there was need to establish the source text for the translation into the vernacular language) ; - translation cannot be done without counselling with “old grammarians and old divines” (a nexus between the translators of specialized texts and experts in the field); - the translation should focus on sentence meaning (in

contemporary terms, the sentence should be understood as the minimal unit in translation) .

The Translation of the New Testament by Erasmus (1516)3 and his urge to study the Holy Text in a committed way clearly stand for the spirit of the

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age: the sacred text should become accessible to all the peoples and people, men and women alike, no matter their social or religious background as the very means of enriching their spiritual lives. Tyndale is the one to quote Erasmus’s words:

I would desire that all women should reade the Gospel land Paule’s epistles, and I wold to god they were translated in to the tonges of all me. So that they might not only be read and knowne of the scotes and yryshmen, But also of the Turkes and saracenes.Truly it is one degre to good livinge, yee the first (I had almost sayde the cheffe) to have a little sight in the scripture, though it be but a grosse knowledge…I wold to god the plowman wold singe a texte of the scripture at his plowbeme, and that the wever at his lowme with this wold drive away the tediousness of tyme. (Tyndale in G. Steiner 1975: 245) Tyndale’s translation of the New Testament in 1525 is intended as a

clear naturalised version for the layman. His work, which deservedly acquired him the name of “The Father of the English Reformation”, heavily influenced the subsequent Bible translators in their style shaping. A group of Protestant scholars, seeking refuge to Geneva, produced an English version of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew, underpinning Tyndale’s translation. The Geneva Bible, as it is referred to and which for the next 80 years was printed in more than 150 editions, is equally noteworthy for the glosses that accompanied it, expressing Calvinist ideas. The Church of England could not but take a stand against such a popular translation produced by Protestant refugees and approve of a religiously conventional translation that included no commentary or annotation. It took effect in 1568 and it is known as the Bishop’s Bible (being produced by Anglican bishops). Nevertheless, both the Geneva Bible and the Bishop’s Bible were discarded in favour of King James’ Bible (1611) – bearing the name of the king and also the head of the Church of England, who authorised it. This translation was endorsed by a group of 47 scholars, divided into 6 working committees, joining their efforts to translate the Greek and Hebrew texts while crediting the Bishop’s Bible in point of content and Tyndale’s version in point of stylistic rendering.

Martin Luther (1530) in his “Circular Letter on Translation” equated the verb” to translate” with the verb ”to germanize”4. A good translation should be both faithful/diligent and idiomatic, reading like an original. The function of the finished product is a determining factor in the adopted translation procedure rather than a canon of procedure.

Contributing to the same direction, the theoretical considerations of Pierre Daniel in De optimo generi interpretandi (1580) lay another brick of the foundations of what is to become the theory of translation centuries later.

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Accordingly, we can state that the aims of the Bible translators is to spot errors (in some other translations of the sacred text), to produce an accessible and aesthetic vernacular style and to clarify points of dogma while securing doctrinal consistency.

• Conclusions The diachronic perspective on translation clearly indicates that any translator is also a translation theorist and a producer of axiological values. For the first time in the history of translation theory, during the 14th and 16th centuries there is collaborative effort between “old grammarians and old divines” (what nowadays we designate by a nexus between the translators of specialized texts and experts in the field), as a prerequisite for a more accurate meaning processing. The translation of the sacred texts imposes a set of interpretations in order that the texts may be accessible, especially when the target language is the vernacular one (concern for the spoken language, in fluxu). Even if in embryo, since the selection, translation and distribution of translation among its readers is mostly dictated institutionally, translation underpins a more reader-oriented approach, a skopos (in contemporary terms), the translator being aware of the new sensitivities and of the social impact of the target text and the very function of translation is assimilation, the inscription of a foreign text with domestic intelligibilities and interests. (Venuti 1998 :11) Notes (1) Derrida (1985) values the translation as much as he values the original text,

arguing that when we read translations of Homer’s or Mann’s works, we read in fact the original, being denied access to the source language text since we are not speakers of Greek or German.

(2) It is interesting to note that up to 1850, when it was first printed, the Wycliffite Bible had circulated only in the manuscript form.

(3) In 1511, the Dutch humanist started to compare the Bible in Greek and Latin (Vulgate). At the same time, he edited the New Testament in Greek, possibly to impose a reliable text, which could equally function as a source text in translation since the 15th and the early 16th centuries meant the large-scale availability of the Bible to the common people.

(4) Luther shaped the modern High German by basing it on the Saxon dialect used at the Saxon court and in the diplomatic encounters, by popularizing and adapting this dialect to religion and enriching it with the vocabulary of the German chroniclers and poets.

References Alvaraz, R.,Vidal, M.C-A. (eds.) (1996). Translation, Power, Subversion, Clevedon:

Multilingual Matters Ltd Bassnett-McGuire, S. ([1980], 1991). Translation Studies, London: Methuen

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Bassnett, S., Lefevere, A. (1990). Translation, History and Culture, London and New York: Pinter

Berman, A. (1985). ”La traduction et la lettre ou l’auberge du lointain” în Les Tours de Babel. Essais sur la traduction, Mauzevin : Trans-Europress, pp. 35-150

Catford, J.C. (1965). A Linguistic Theory of Translation. Oxford: OUP Chestermann, A. ([1997] 2000). Memes of Translation. The Spread of Ideas in

Translation Theory, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Eco, U. (2002). In cautarea limbii perfecte (transl. Dragos Cojocaru). Iasi: Polirom Flamand, J. (1983). Ecrire et traduire: sur la voie de la création, Ottawa : Editions du

Vermillon Genette, G. (1976). Mimologiques. Voyage en Cratyle. Paris: Seuil Harris, B. (1977). Papers in Translatology. Ottawa: Ottawa University Ladmiral, J. R. (1979). Traduire: théorèmes pour la traduction, Paris: Ed. Petite Bibliothèque Payot Lederer, M. (1987). ”La théorie interprétative de la traduction” in Le français dans le monde, numéro spécial, août-septembre, pp. 11-17 Lefevere, A. (ed.) 1(992). Translation History Culture. London: Routledge Long, L. (ed.) (2005). Translating and Religion. Holy Untranslatable? UK: Multilingual Matters Ltd Mounin, G. (1963). Les problèmes théoriques de la traduction, Paris: Gallimard Munday, J. (2001). Introducing Translation Studies. Theories and Applications, London:

Routledge Newmark, P. (1988). Approaches to Translation, London: Prentice Hall International

Ltd Nida, E. (1964). Towards a Science of Translating, Leiden: E.J. Brill Pergnier, M. (1993). Les fondements sociolinguistiques de la traduction, Lille : Presses

Universitaires de Lille Riccardi, A. (2002). Translation Studies. Perspectives on an Emerging Discipline. Cambridge: CUP Schulte, R., Biguenet, J. (eds.) (1992). Theories of Translation. An Anthology of Essays from Dryden to Derrida. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press Séleskovitch, D., Lederer, M. (1984). La théorie interprétative de la traduction, Paris: Didier Snell-Hornby, M., ([1988] 1995). (revised edition), Translation Studies. An Integrated

Approach, Amsterdam: Benjamins Steiner, G. ([1975] 1998). (3rd edition), After Babel. Aspects of Language and

Translation, New York and London: OUP Toury, G. (1995). Descriptive Translation Studies – And Beyond, Amsterdam

Philadelphia : John Benjamins Vasquez-Ayora, G. (1977). Introducción a la traductología. Washington DC:

Georgetown University Press Venuti, L. (1995). The Translator’s Invisibility. A History of Translation. London: Routledge Venuti, L. (1998). The Scandals of Translation. Towards an Ethics of Difference. London: Routledge

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George VOLCEANOV A Critique of Leon Leviţchi’s “Philological” Translation of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” – A Pre-requisite to a Twenty-First Century Translation

“Spiru Haret” University of Bucureşti, ROMANIA

The Translator’s Moral Dilemma

2008 was a good year for the Shakespeare fans in Romania, with several premieres, including Edward III at the National Theatre in Bucharest, Measure for Measure at the National Theatre in Craiova, King Lear at the Bulandra Theatre, A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Metropolis Theatre, and The Tempest at Teatrul Mic, all of them in Bucharest. 2008 was also the year of several new stage versions of Shakespeare’s plays, including two new ones of The Tempest alone (one by Ioana Ieronim, for the aforementioned premiere in Bucharest) and one by George Volceanov (for the Youth Theatre in Piatra Neamţ). The latter will be published, too, in a new series of Shakespeare translations, which will be launched by Art Publishing House in 2009.

This paper addresses a few issues springing from my attempt to produce a new version of The Tempest, a version that might comply with the specific demands of a stage text but would likewise meet the requirements of a page text.

While translating the play, I came to realize that I was faced with an awful moral dilemma I had not experienced during my earlier work as a Shakespeare translator. It was one thing to translate plays like The Two Noble Kinsmen and Edward III, which were novelties for the Romanian culture, and a completely different thing to translate a play with a long history of translations in Romania. Needless to say, a twenty-first century translator cannot ignore history, previous experience. Each new translation thus becomes a response to earlier texts. The new translator must respond

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either by acceptance or by rejection. Moreover, such a translation inevitably becomes an illustration of Harold Bloom’s anxiety of influence. If Shakespeare was haunted by Marlowe’s poetic and dramatic achievements throughout his life, I’ll surely be haunted by the academic and literary achievements of my mentor and professor Leon Leviţchi. That is why I chose to measure the artistry of my new translation against my former teacher’s achievement.

Interestingly, my moral dilemma, which consists of both accepting and rejecting my mentor’s translation and yet of finally displacing and supplanting it, might be described not just as anxiety of influence and Oedipal struggle, but as a Shakespearean situation as well, if we were to go back to the text of the play under scrutiny. Before the Second World War, Dragoş Protopopescu, another great translator that gave us a memorable version of The Tempest, considered the ideal translator of Shakespeare to be a “Caliban who admits that his master has taught him how to speak”1. I likewise admit being a translator who learned his craftsmanship from a Prospero that I am now standing up against. “You taught me language, and my profit on’t / Is I know how to…,” of course, not to “curse”, but to translate, to paraphrase Caliban’s words.

My anxiety of influence is obvious in the very fact that, before providing a critique of Leon Leviţchi’s earlier translation, I must acknowledge not only his formative influence on my entire career but also the very presence of Leviţchian fragments in my new translation. At least threescore lines or fragments of lines from Leon Leviţchi’s translation of The Tempest have survived in my 2008 version of the play. On the other hand, I can boast about recycling not a single line or collocation from Dan Amedeu Lăzărescu’s absolutely horrible translation of the same play.

Here are just some of the Leviţchian echoes in my text: din pântec bun se nasc fii răi; cu oaste trădătoare, într-o noapte; de-o stea prielnică; furtunoasele Bermude; te-am învăţat de toate; Nu, fata mea, mănâncă, doarme, simte (I.2); şi epoca de aur aş întrece-o; Cum, au şi adormit?; Să dormi cu ochii larg deschişi (II.1); care amână dar nu uită; De ce priveşti în gol?; atraşi de muget ca viţeii (IV.1); Mergi, dă-le drumul; Mă-ntorc cât ai clipi din ochi; Trişezi, Alteţă; and, MOST FAMOUSLY: O, ce minune, / Ce de făpturi alese! Ce frumoşi / Sunt oamenii! O, mândră lume nouă… (V.1), i.e. Miranda’s revelation about the existence of a brave new world. The latter lines are probably some of the best ever written in Romanian.

Shall we call this act of borrowing – intertext / palimpsest / a case of plagiarism / literary heritage? Time will answer this question. More than half of these instances are purely coincidental (I have noticed that Mihnea Gheorghiu has got similarly coincidental echoes of Protopopescu’s translation of King Lear, too, so I do not represent an unprecedented case);

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the other instances do justice to my predecessor and preserve lines that should not be jettisoned merely for the sake of novelty. Challenging the earlier School of Romanian Translators: Modernizing the Archaic Vocabulary Although Leon Leviţchi’s generation of Shakespeare translators looked down on Dragoş Protopopescu’s earlier translations, they actually shared Protopopescu’s strategy of translating Shakespeare’s plays2. In response to the complexity of Shakespeare’s plays, Protopopescu claimed to have mustered all the resources of the Romanian language (archaic, Slavic, even Turkish words) so as to strike some kind of lexical balance between his translations and the original texts. Leon Leviţchi, Dan Duţescu, Dan Botta and others did follow into Protopopescu’s steps when they heavily employed an archaic language full of hardly comprehensible words.

Every time I embark upon a Shakespeare translation I rest on the assumption that at the time when Shakespeare wrote his plays (cca. 1590-1610) the English language was undergoing revolutionary changes. Shakespeare and his contemporaries invented a huge mass of new words. At the time, they were considered innovative writers. Their language sounded extremely novel. People watching performances went home and wrote down the words they had newly acquired in the theatre. This curious hunger for linguistic knowledge was recorded by Shakespeare himself in his plays: Sir Andrew Aguecheek writes down the words and phrases used by Viola on the occasion of her second encounter with Olivia (Twelfth Night, III.1.97-102), while Justice Shallow likewise praises Corporal Bardolph’s linguistic inventiveness (2 Henry IV, III.2.75-79): both are eager to take over the freshly coined phrases. Therefore I strongly refute Protopopescu’s conviction that Shakespeare should be translated into archaic language. Why shouldn’t each generation of (non-English speaking) readers and theatre-goers enjoy the pleasure of reading / seeing Shakespeare’s plays in an updated, modernized vocabulary?

Dimitriu (2007) recently noticed that “although Leviţchi’s Romanian Tempest is a literary text, it is less poetic than the original and the translator’s solid philological background ultimately takes over the poet’s soaring verse” and one of the “archaicizing strategies to which Leviţchi resorts” is the use of “old words that are hardly comprehensible for contemporary Romanian readers”3. My new version attempts to emend this flaw. Dimitriu also concedes that although “Leviţchi’s translation of The Tempest has remained canonic to this day […], the Romanian professor’s text is, above all, a praiseworthy philological enterprise.”4 This is an implicit statement of the translation’s failure to become a stage text.

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I shall provide a few parallel examples between Leviţchi’s translation and mine and leave it up to my fellow-academics to decide which of the two versions is more faithful to the original and more “poetic” or “literary”5. 1. Ariel: Sometimes I’d divide And burn in many places; on the topmast The yards and bowsprit would I flame distinctly, Then meet and join. Jove’s lightning, the precursors O’th’ dreadful thunder-claps, more momentary And sight-outrunning were not… (I.2.198-203) Ariel: … uneori mă dumicam Şi-ardeam şi ici, şi colo, pe catarg, Pe vergi şi pe bompres, apoi din flăcări Mă-ntorlocam; mai iute, mai năprasnic Ca fulgerul lui Zeus, vestitor Al trăsnetului crunt… (LL)6

Ariel: M-am făr’miţat, arzând În cât mai multe locuri deodată, Sus pe catarg, pe vergi şi pe bompres, Apoi m-am întregit mai crunt, mai iute Ca fulgerul lui Jupiter, ce-anunţă Sinistrul tunet care va să vină. (GV) The first two words in italics in LL’s version are completely incomprehensible today. There are two more emendations I propose here. One of them is the use of Jupiter instead of Zeus, insofar as the whole mythological background of the play points to the Roman mythology, not to the Greek one (Shakespeare prefers the names of Iris, Ceres, Juno, Neptune and so on to those of Eos, Demetra, Hera or Poseidon). And here is the other emendation I suggest: the thunder-clap refers to an acoustic phenomenon, not to the thunderbolt. After all, it is just a simple matter of physics. 2. Gonzalo: … every day some sailor’s wife… (II.1.4) Gonzalo: … căci zilnic o soţie de năier… (LL) Gonzalo: … soaţa de marinar… (GV)

If we were to ask a Romanian passer-by what the word năier means

he would definitely take it for naist, a musician who plays a pan-pipe. The word chosen by LL is both archaic and poetic. It was judiciously used in the

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title of LL’s beautiful rendition of the Anglo-Saxon poem The Seafarer, but should we use it in this context, if the English word used by Shakespeare not only is still in use but still sounds modern to a native speaker’s ear? 3. II. 1. 75-99 Widow Dido Vădana Didona (LL) Văduva Didona (GV) Again, the word chosen for widow is the less used one in present-day Romanian. It sounds archaic and it is also partly dialectal, with a regional circulation. 4. Gonzalo: I’th’ commonwealth I would by contraries Execute all things, for no kind of traffic Would I admit; no name of magistrate; Letters should not be known; riches, poverty And use of service, none; contract, succession, Bourn, bound of land tilth, vineyard, none; No use of metal, corn, or wine, or oil… No sovereignty… (II. 1.145-51, 154) Gonzalo: Pe toate le-aş întoarce-n statul ăsta Cu susu-n jos; căci n-aş îngădui Nici un negoţ; nici o numire-n slujbă; Azbuche – aş! avere, sărăcie Sau slugi, deloc; înscrisuri, moşteniri, Hotar, arat, podgorii – nicidecum! N-am folosi metal, grâu, vin, ţiţei… Nici tron n-ar fi… (LL) Gonzalo: Pe dos le-aş face toate-n statul ăsta: Întâi, aş îngrădi orice negoţ Şi-aş desfiinţa orice magistratură; Adio, carte, bogăţii, mizerie, Adio, slugi, contracte, moşteniri, Hotare-ntre moşii, arat, podgorii; N-am folosi metal, grâu, vin, ulei… N-ar exista puterea… (GV)

I shall discuss the words in italics. Shakespeare uses the word magistrate, which sounds exceptionally modern to our ears; numire-n slujbă is perfectly comprehensible, but again, my point is that Shakespeare’s

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modernity ought to have its counterpart in a modern rendering, hence my preference for magistratură. My use of carte for letters is an acceptable synecdoche: both words refer to education, learning, literacy. LL’s azbuche is again an archaic and dialectal word that would make no sense to most spectators. Although înscrisuri is still very much in use nowadays, it should not necessarily replace contract when Shakespeare uses that very same word. My hunch is that for decades on there has been a tendency among Romanian translators to over-poeticize Shakespeare’s plays. All these translators seem to have forgotten that drama is, essentially “mimesis of dialogue”7, not poetry. Shakespeare was a poet, too, but his poetry should be looked up in his poems, not always in his dramatic speeches.

I have emended LL’s ţiţei, which is a gross mistake, and used instead ulei, as Gonzalo here refers to victuals, not to raw oil (in a text written around 1611). Finally, sovereignty is an abstract word, and so is puterea. LL’s use of a synecdoche (the concrete word standing for the abstract idea of power) is not a bad choice, but I turned that passage into an illustration of fashionable New-Historicist and Cultural Materialist jargon, centred on power.

5. Prospero: If I have too austerely punished you Your compensation makes amends… (IV.1.1-2) Prospero: Pedeapsa de ţi-a fost prea grea, ispaşa Te răsplăteşte-acum… (LL) Prospero: Dacă ţi-a fost pedeapsa mult prea aspră, În compensaţie acuma-ţi dau… (GV) Compensation is again a perfectly modern word with a perfectly modern Romanian counterpart, while ispaşa is just another aporia for the twenty-first century Romanian native. LL’s “philological” treatment of Shakespeare’s translation was indeed an expression of a great scholar’s love for the endless resources of the target language, and for its rarest and least known linguistic jewels. It was this great love that ultimately undermined the practical value of his translation, which never enjoyed a stage career. On the Principle of Stringency Of all the Romanian translators of Shakespeare’s plays, Leon Leviţchi was the exemplary scholar-translator that always did his best to observe the Tieck-Schlegel principle of stringency.

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I shall provide some statistics regarding the number of lines that make up some of the scenes in the original English text of The Tempest (WS), and in the translations of Leon Leviţchi (LL), Dan Amedeu Lăzărescu (DAL)8 and George Volceanov (GV). DAL’s version hardly deserves being dubbed a translation; it is, actually, a caricature of a translation, a literary waste.

My statistics do not take into account the number of prose lines, which varies from one edition to another.

I. 2. WS 502, DAL 687, LL 512, GV 524; III.1 WS 96, DAL 153, LL 100, GV 102; III.3 WS 109, DAL 151, LL 110, GV 112; IV. 1 (up to the moment when Caliban enters) WS 193, DAL 237, LL 195, GV 201; V.1 WS 328, DAL 411, LL 335, GV 345. LL is closest to WS in terms of stringency, but even LL himself

sometimes adds some extra lines when he translates Ariel’s song about Alonso’s alleged death (10 lines for the original 8 lines in Act I, Scene 2), the epilogue (24 lines for 20), or Stephano’s sea-song in Act II, Scene 2 (10 lines for the original 9). In this respect, I have outdone (out-Leviţchied) my mentor and managed to preserve the original number of lines (and syllables) of the songs and of the epilogue.

Filling in the Blanks

A close scrutiny of my translation and of professor Leviţchi’s translation would reveal the fact that my version contains information that does not appear in the 1990 Univers edition of LL’s Furtuna. I have detected at least five one-line blanks (pp. 361, 376, 400, 403, 408).

These blanks are either the result of the translator’s wish to compress the speeches and stick to the principle of stringency by skipping some information every now and then or, more likely, the result of the editor’s / compositor’s lack of attention. (If so, nothing seems to have changed since Shakespeare’s time.)

Here are, for the sake of fun (and restoration) those missing lines which, in my translation, read as follows:

Prospero to Caliban: …and lodged thee in my cell… (I.2.346-7) / te-am găzduit la mine-n peşteră… (GV) Caliban’s soliloquy: …Sometimes like apes that mow and chatter me (II.2.9) / Maimuţe strâmbăcioase care muşcă. (GV) Trinculo: Do, do; we steal by line and level, an’t like your grace.

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Stephano: I thank thee for that jest: here’s a garment for’t. (He takes a garment from the tree and gives it to Trinculo.) Wit shall not go unrewarded while I am a king of this country. Steal by line and level is an excellent pass of pate. (He takes another garment and gives it to him.) There’s another garment for’t. (IV.1.239-45) Trinculo: Că bine le mai potriveşti; de-o vrea Măria Ta, ne punem pe şutit ca lumea. Stephano: Mulţam de glumă; na, ţine şi tu o boarfă. (Ia un articol vestimentar din copac şi i-l dă lui Trinculo.) Vorbele de duh n-or să rămână nerăsplătite atâta timp cât fi-voi regele acestei ţări. „Şutit ca lumea” e o poantă super. (Mai ia un articol de îmbrăcăminte şi i-l dă lui Trinculo.) Mai ţine-o boarfă. (GV) Prospero to Antonio: Flesh and blood, / You, brother mine… (V.1.74-5) / Tu, frate, ce de-un sânge eşti cu mine… (GV) Prospero to Alonso: At least bring forth a wonder to content ye / As much as me my dukedom. (V.1.170-1) Să facem o minune… (LL) Măcar cu o minune şi-o să-ţi placă / Pe cât îmi place mie ce mi-ai dat. (GV)

In back-translation from Romanian, the words in italics mean a wonder you’ll like as much as I like what you gave me, implicitly pointing to Prospero’s being restored Duke of Milan. This speech shows us a Prospero that is still interested in issues like power and material possessions.

Proposing New Interpretations

While I don’t share Protopopescu’s (1940) views on the vocabulary a Shakespeare translator should use, I do endorse his contention that every new generation of translators should use the latest scientific findings in Shakespeare studies and the latest critical editions of a given play. Protopopescu used John Dover Wilson’s acclaimed 1921 New Cambridge Shakespeare edition of The Tempest, a groundbreaking piece of scholarship; I have used Stephen Orgel’s Oxford single-play volume edition of 1988 (reprinted in 2002). Mr Orgel is, therefore, responsible for many of the novel textual interpretations in my translation. (This does not mean that Mr Orgel is necessarily the best editor of The Tempest in recent times; see for instance Richard Proudfoot’s Shakespeare: Text, Stage, Canon, London, Thomson Learning, 2001, pp. 30-1, which teaches us a very good lesson, according to which no great scholar is an infallible editor.)

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As for my original contribution to this issue – probably an innovation in Romanian Shakespeare translations – I have, for the first time, retrieved as much information as possible from the editor’s notes in handling the translation of puns. My new method is: do not translate puns literally but rather translate the editor’s extended footnote. The first two textual parallels are illustrations of this method.

1. Gonzalo: I’ll warrant him for drowning, though the ship were no stronger than a nutshell and as leaky as an unstanched wench. (I.1.46-8) Gonzalo: Pun rămăşag că n-o să se înece, chiar dacă vasul n-ar fi mai tare decât o găoace de nucă şi găurit ca o fleoarţă. (LL) Gonzalo: Bag mâna-n foc că ăsta nu se-neacă nici dacă vasul nu-i mare tare decât o coajă de nucă şi chiar dacă are cala mai fleşcăită decât o codană pe care o mănâncă bâzdâcul sau una care-i pe roşu. (GV) LL boldly translated Shakespeare’s obscene imagery alluding to sexual matters; however, his syntax seems to me a bit too abrupt and it results into ambiguity. And it would be a pity to miss one of the two possible meanings proposed by Orgel: “a joke about menstruation, without absorbent padding, but unstanched can mean unsatisfied, and leaky may therefore instead imply sexual arousal”.9

2. Gonzalo: You are gentlemen of brave mettle; you would lift the moon out of her sphere if she would continue in it five weeks without changing. (II.1.180-2) Gonzalo: Nici că se mai află alţii ca voi pe lume; aţi desprinde până şi luna din crugul ei, dacă nu s-ar primeni la chip înainte de cinci săptămâni. (LL) Gonzalo: Domnilor, sunteţi tari de tot; cine vă vede crede c-aţi fi în stare să furaţi şi luna de pe cer, dar voi mai mult lătraţi la ea. (GV) LL’s literal translation conveys no clear meaning of this speech, or just some blurred allusion. My translation is based on Orgel’s footnote referring to the proverb the moon keeps her course for all the dogs’ barking10. 3. Prospero: … Hast thou forgot The foul witch Sycorax, who with age and envy Was grown into a hoop? (I.2.257-9) This blue-eyed hag was hither brought with child,

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And here was left by th’ sailors. (I.2.269-70) … she died And left thee there, where thou didst vent thy groans

As fast as mill-wheels strike. (I.2.279-81) Prospero: … Uiţi de Sycorax, Hidoasa hârcă, ce de ani şi pizmă, S-a prefăcut în cerc de bute? Însărcinată, cloanţa cu ochi vineţi A fost adusă-aici… …Murind ea într-acestea, Tu ai rămas ca să te-ntreci în geamăt Cu aripile morilor de vânt. (LL) Prospero: Tu uiţi de Sycorax, de vrăjitoarea Pocită, cocârjată de-ani şi râcă?

Pe scorpia cu pleoape vineţii, Cu pruncu-n pântec, au lăsat-o-aici. …ea a murit şi ai rămas Tot priponit, gemând la nesfârşit, Ca roata morii. (GV)

LL provides us with a highly elaborate metaphor in describing the

aging Sycorax, but its meaning is hard to grasp during a performance. Cerc de bute would certainly invite many spectators to rake their brains. Was grown into a hoop refers to a hunchbacked person and the author’s message is quite clear, so there is no use further complicating things.

The phrase blue-eyed does not refer to the colour of the witch’s eyes proper, but to the colour of her lids; according to Orgel, here they signal pregnancy, just as they do in John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi (II.1.67)11.

LL translates the mill-wheels as wind-mills, while Orgel claims that Shakespeare’s conceit refers to the blades of water-mills12. The more surprising is this mistake if we think of a well-known Romanian popular song in which the burden refers to the noise of the water-mill blades striking the water: “Roata morii se-nvârteşte, ţac-ţac-ţac”. The song is famous especially for its onomatopoeia; Ariel’s groaning may well suggest such onomatopoeia as well. 4. SD I. 2. 373 Enter Ferdinand, and Ariel invisible, playing and singing. SD Intră din nou Ariel, nevăzut, jucând şi cântând; Ferdinand îl urmează. (LL) SD Reintră Ariel, cântă nevăzut, la lăută şi din gură;Ferdinand îl urmează. (GV)

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According to Orgel (2002), Ariel is probably playing a lute13. I assign this incredible blunder to an overzealous young editor’s wish to “improve” the professor’s translation. Unfortunately, such things still happen in the Romanian publishing system. 5. Antonio: Noble Sebastian, Thou let’st thy fortune sleep – die, rather; wink’st Whiles thou art waking. (II.1.213-5) Antonio: Sebastian, tu-ţi laşi Norocul să-aţipească şi să moară; Clipeşti deşi eşti treaz. (LL) Antonio: Nobile Sebastian, Îţi laşi norocul să adoarmă sau Să moară, mai curând – că, deşi treaz, Ţii ochii-nchişi. (GV)

LL provides us with another instance of literal translation in which

the last clause is quite illogical. It is illogical in English as well but for the explanations we get from the footnotes of the scholarly editions of the play. I have translated wink’st as you keep your eyes shut, according to Orgel’s suggestion about one’s closing his eyes to an opportunity14.

6. Caliban: Do that good mischief which may make this island Thine own forever, and I, thy Caliban, For aye thy foot-licker. (IV.1.216-8) Caliban: Şi fă isprava; insula, atunci Va fi a ta pe veci, iar Caliban – De-a pururi sclavul tău. (LL) Caliban: Fă buna faptă rea, să fii de-a pururi Stăpânul insulei, iar Caliban Să fie-n veci pupincuristul tău. (GV)

LL misses the opportunity to exploit the stylistic value of the oxymoron good mischief of the original, although he once published an excellent essay on Shakespeare’s use of antonyms15. LL also chose to avoid the use of a vulgar word for the translation of Shakespeare’s foot-licker. He used the word sclav (slave in back-translation). I have opted for the more suggestive pupincurist (which is arse-kisser in back-translation). 7. Caliban: Let it alone, thou fool, it is but trash. Trinculo: O ho, monster! We know what belongs to a frippery. (IV.1.223-4)

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Caliban: Mai dă-le-ncolo, neghiobule, sunt nişte zdrenţe. Trinculo: Ia ascultă, monstrule, îţi închipui că nu ştim noi ce-s alea zdrenţe? (LL) Caliban: Dă-le-ncolo, măscăriciule, sunt numai zdrenţe. Trinculo: Uşurel, monstrule, că ştim şi noi cum arată nişte ţoale second-hand. (GV)

LL translates both trash and frippery as zdrenţe (rags in back-translation), but, according to Orgel, frippery is a second-hand clothing-shop16 – so why shouldn’t we use the very same word in Romanian? It is the kind of phrase that may add some extra fun to the speeches of the comic characters in The Tempest.

I could provide dozens of further examples of how I have departed from my precursor’s interpretations but the confines of this paper prompt me to stop here.

Conclusions 1. Translating a Shakespeare play previously translated by Leon Leviţchi is an extremely challenging task for any present-day Romanian translator. The late professor set standards that are hard to equal or surpass.

2. Translating a Shakespeare play previously translated by Leon Leviţchi is like sailing in safe waters, aided by a lighthouse that provides reassuring guidance to the twenty-first century translator. It represents a reliable point of departure in one’s attempt to work out what one might call a “good” text of one’s own.

3. In the long run, time will always be on the side of the translators to come. A new translation is a rewriting but each rewriting is also an act of writing in itself. The latest translator will always benefit from the latest advances in the field of Shakespeare studies and editing. Languages evolve in time; what is new today will be obsolete tomorrow. Today P. P. Carp’s and Barac’s translations are hardly readable anymore; so will be Leon Leviţchi’s soon enough, and George Volceanov’s in the next forty to fifty years. All these changes will keep nourishing the translators’ conviction that translations are perfectible and every new generation of readers / theatre-goers deserve their own, updated translations.

1 Dragoş Protopopescu, “Cuvânt înainte sau Lupta cu Shakespeare” (“Foreword” or “The Struggle with Shakespeare”) in William Shakespeare, Furtuna, Bucureşti: Fundaţia pentru Literaturǎ şi Artǎ, 1940, p. xiv. 2 For a detailed discussion of Dragoş Protopopescu’s theory of translation, see Rodica Dimitriu, “Shakespeare in 20th Century Romania: translation policies and translators’ projects,” paper given at the SHINE Conference, Iaşi, November 2007.

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3 Ibidem. 4 Ibidem. 5 I shall hereafter use the abbreviations LL and GV for Leon Leviţchi and George Volceanov, respectively. 6 All quotes from LL’s translation of The Tempest are taken from Furtuna, in Shakespeare, Opere, Volume 8, Bucharest, Univers, 1990, pp. 347-411. 7 Cf. Northrop Frye, The Anatomy of Criticism (1957), Princeton and London, Princeton University Press, 1990, p. 269. 8 Cf. William Shakespeare, The Tempest / Furtuna, Târgovişte, Editura Pandora-M, 2004. 9 William Shakespeare, The Tempest, edited by Stephen Orgel, London and New York, 2002, p. 99 n. 10 Idem, pp. 136-7 n. 11 Idem, p. 116 n. 12 Ibidem. 13 Idem, p. 136 n. 14 Idem, p. 138 n. 15 Leon Leviţchi, “Antonimia – procedeu semnificativ in opera lui Shakespeare,” in Studii shakespeariene, Cluj-Napoca, Dacia, 1976 pp. 101-29. 16 Idem, p. 185 n. References Dimitriu, R. (2007). “Shakespeare in 20th Century Romania: translation policies and

translators’ projects,” paper given at the SHINE Conference, Iaşi Frye, N. (1990). The Anatomy of Criticism, Princeton and London: Princeton

University Press Leviţchi, L. (1976). Studii shakespeariene, Cluj-Napoca: Dacia Orgel, S. (ed.) (2002). William Shakespeare, The Tempest, London and New York:

Oxford University Press Protopopescu, D. (1940). “Cuvânt înainte sau Lupta cu Shakespeare” (“Foreword”

or “The Struggle with Shakespeare”) in William Shakespeare, Furtuna, Bucureşti: Fundaţia pentru Literaturǎ şi Artǎ

Proudfoot, R. (2001). Shakespeare: Text, Stage, Canon, London: Arden, Thomson Learning

Shakespeare, W. (1990). Opere, Vol. 8, Bucharest: Univers Shakespeare,W. (2004). The Tempest / Furtuna, Târgovişte: Pandora-M Volceanov, G. (2008). Furtuna, ms




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Abstracts

Les belgicismes et leur traduction en Roumain Carmen ANDREI – Universitatea „Dunărea de Jos”, Galaţi

Present on every language level and in every register – school slang, college slang most of all, official administrative texts, legal or technical vocabularies – including gastronomy, the words of Belgian origin appear as linguistic peculiarities of the French language spoken all over the present-day Belgium. In this respect, we embark for a short inventory of such terms, under the form of a small glossary of terms which we shall translate and comment upon, in appropriate examples and contexts.

Translating ESP Corpora Ionela Loredana BATOG – “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi

Texts should be chosen according to the “social role” they play within the context of communication. The continuous technical evolution brings along a language revolution, all languages being invaded by the new wave of ‘technicisms’. As a research method, statistical semantics is embraced for an easier identification of key words in specialised texts.

Stepping Up to the Next Level: Translation as a Tool of GlobalizationAna-Maria BELDIE – “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi

The connection between Globalization and Translation is in keeping with the present international trend claiming the increase of understanding between cultures. The origins of Globalization are strictly commercial in the sense that cross-border business negotiation revealed the extent to which languages and cultures are a barrier to communication. Further on, we dealt with Globalization from a different point of view: the game of power and world supremacy with the English language as the main weapon.

The intention underlying our research was to prove that translation is no longer an isolated activity performed in ivory towers, but a method of negotiating for power.


Khatuna BERIDZE – “Shota Rustaveli” University, Georgia The untranslatability of the culturological barriers represent hindrances for

the perfect communication between cultures, since the metamessages they bear in the SL text may be lost for the TL text reader. Being unique phenomena of a specific culture, realia as culturological barriers are also the most vulnerable




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phenomena for translation. The article lays emphasis on the need of provision footnote explanations when transcribing a borrowed realia vocative into the TL, especially, in case of the hybrid nature of the SL text, containing a mixture of two cultures. Attention is given to the frequented cases of omitting realia, stipulating that omission of national realia narrows the scope of the TL reader not only from the culturological viewpoint, but from the sociolinguistic viewpoint as well.

Translating English and Romanian Fairy Tales

Cristina CHIFANE – “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi The research undertaken upon a literary corpus of more than forty English

fairy tales has revealed some interesting peculiarities of the translation process into Romanian. The linguistic problems regarding idiomatic expressions and phrases, collocations, proverbs and last but not least, archaic forms will be thoroughly analyzed by means of relevant examples and explanations.

Translating for the Media

Ramona CIORANU – “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi Technological changes are affecting communication modes and have a

profound impact on the professions of translators and interpreters to such an extent that new professions will result. Media translators may be one of the new professions to show up. All the technical knowledge necessary to a subtitler, the experience needed to provide a good newspaper translation, the skills or maybe we should call it art to translate headlines, or movie titles, they all require new strategies on the part of the translator which are just as specific as those required for other kinds of specialized translations.

Identity in Cultural Diversity Through Translation

Elena CROITORU – “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi All speech communities show linguistic variation and aspects that are

socially and culturally acceptable and grammatical. Speech community is referred to as a fundamental unit of analysis because the definition of language binding it is based on the notion of language diversity, varieties and styles. Conflicts over language use are part of negotiation, since configurations of language use differ from one cultural context to another. Any linguistic form gains different meanings in different cultural contexts. It is as important as difficult to preserve identity in cultural diversity, so much the more that English is the leading exponent of a phenomenon that has come to be called standardization. The basic idea of international standardization is that it is the most powerful language culture, which is the privileged one that exerts the greatest influence on the way texts are translated.

The greatest difficulty to overcome is that in translating a text into a language culture that is very different from the source language culture,




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negotiation is not performed on definitely equal terms, but it is always slanted towards the privileged language culture.

Translation: A Vocabulary Learning Strategy

Gabriela CUŞEN – “Transilvania” University of Braşov This paper examines the use of translation as a means of language

learning. In SLA literature, translation is deemed to be one of the complex cognitive skills that language learning strategies are. The paper reports on a study which is based on the analysis of language learning diary and interview data. The reported findings suggest that the use of translation as a cognitive language learning strategy – together with the other strategies identified in the data – shows that the subjects of the study can be characterised as experienced, advanced and independent learners.

Information Universe and Text Perspectives in Translation: the Hol-

atomistic Phase Daniel DEJICA – Polytechnic University of Timişoara

Recent studies claim that the more translators know about the structures and the dynamics of discourse, the more readily and accurately they can translate both the content and the spirit of a text. Similarly, international research projects aim at helping translators make reasonable and consistent decisions as to the relevance and reliability of source text features in the target text.

My PhD project is in line with such research desiderata; its main aim is to set up an integrated approach for the understanding, identification and analysis of information universe in source texts which can be used as a basis for translation. This paper presents an adapted model which I use for the identification of information universe constituents, i.e. Themes and Rhemes, and the hol-atomistic phase of the process of information universe analysis.

Two “Ironic” Gestures: Translation and Literary Criticism Virginia Mihaela DUMITRESCU – Economic Studies Academy of Bucureşti

The paper looks at two perspectives on translation (and, by extension, on literary criticism) – namely, Walter Benjamin’s and Paul de Man’s – formulated within decades of each other, but brought together by the “ironic” gesture they both identify: a “disarticulation” or “decanonisation” of the original text (or of the literary text under analysis) and its “re-canonisation” or “freezing” into a “definitive” form.

Equivalences of the Romanian Verbal Form Presumptive in French Alina GANEA, Anca GÂŢĂ – “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi

Within the Romanian verbal system, presumptive is a verbal mood usually used by a speaker whenever he/she wants to formulate a supposition which is based on some premises and for which he/she cannot yet provide full validation.




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Responsible for casting a modal shade of doubt and uncertainty upon the action/state rendered by the verb, the presumptive mood may fall under the scope of an evidential interpretation: in certain contexts this mood may inform on the inferential source of knowledge lying behind an utterance. The hypothesis underlying our research is that the traditional association of the Romanian presumptive with the French conditional as corresponding in the translation process is not always functional since the initial meaning of inference might be lost or be contaminated with other semantic meanings. The analysis will be carried out on a corpus of Romanian literary texts translated into French.

The research is financed by the Ministry of Education, Research, and Youth within the PN II scheme, Project ID 1209/2007.

Translation – Today and Tomorrow – on the Availability of a Translation

Bianca-Oana HAN – “Petru Maior” University of Tg. Mureş The paper tries to answer the question whether a translation performed

today resists in time till tomorrow, since language, considered as a living organism is in continuous movement. Giving a Helping Hand to the Author, or Translating the First 150 Pages of Joseph Kanon’s The Good German

Petru IAMANDI - “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi Sometimes authors commit errors, especially when they try to recreate the

past and set their stories in an environment they are not very familiar with, and use words from the language of the place which they don’t have a good command of. Also, since their first target readers are their fellow-countrymen, they tend to be too topical. This makes the translator’s job more difficult, he having to correct the errors overtly or covertly, and provide explanations in the form of footnotes. This paper is an insight into the translator’s logic and decision-making meant to improve the author’s work and help the reader understand it better.

Peculiarities of Transmitting Author’s Viewpoint in Translation Nana KAJAIA - Batumi Shota Rustaveli University, Georgia

One of the features peculiar to the style of N. Dumbadze, the famous Georgian writer, is a traditional richness of stylistic devices: similes, metaphors, and binary symbolism. The author applies the latter as one of the most expressive means to render his own points of view. However, the binary symbolism in the SL text, which bears the implications of life and death are transposed in the TL text with directness that makes a simplified representation of the author’s artistic approach to writing. The Russian translation shows the tendency of open interpretation of the author’s implicated position. The “open text effect” results in losing or changing the author’s ideas and intentions in the TL.




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The Unparalleled Adventure of One Charles Baudelaire: A Portrait of the Poet as Translator of Poe’s Fiction

Daniela LINGURARU – “Stefan ce Mare” University of Suceava The paper refers to Baudelaire’s remarkable work of putting Poe into

French and analyses, starting from a few significant examples, the degree of “loyalty” to Poe’s text. Praised as “better than the original”, Baudelaire(’s translation) disagrees with any theory regarding the inevitable difficulties in translating from English to French, reinforcing instead the hope for a “perfect” translation.

Translating Allusive Names and Quotations from George Eliot

Nadia Nicoleta MORĂRAŞU - University of Bacău Eliot’s novels tend to have allusive titles, literary epigraphs and chapter

headings, which may be regarded as purely ornamental, unless they function as a complex intertextual system. Our aim throughout this paper is showing that such elements range among the techniques of intertextual representation that deliberately echo culturally recognizable texts. Therefore, both allusive names and epigraphs will be discussed in a selection of representative examples, intended to bring into light their scope and to illustrate various strategies to be used in their translation.

The Cultural Context in Communication and Translation Monica NĂSTASI - “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi

The aim of my paper is to differentiate between high context communication (HCC) and low context communication (LCC) cultures, to discuss the links between contexting and left/right brain hemispheres and to show the relevance of contexting in communication and translation.

“Beware of Your Luggage!” – A Glimpse at (G)localized English Mariana NEAGU - “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi

Using examples of entertaining signs, directions, publicity materials and hotel notices which prove to be fertile territories for the misuse of English abroad, the paper focuses on minor varieties of English that seem to have been neglected in translation theory and practice. More specifically, we look at the registers mentioned above with a view to discuss three major types of translation problems: pragmatic translation problems (including culture-bound terms and space restrictions), intercultural translation problems (arising from differences between formal conventions, text-type conventions, conventional forms of address) and interlingual translation problems (arising from structural differences in vocabulary and syntax).




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Translating Cultural Brands: David Lodge, Changing Places Lidia Mihaela NECULA – “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi

Given that literature exists not only within a language but within a culture, translating literature can be placed on a scale according to the extent to which each example draws attention to the way it is manipulating language in/through culture. Apart from outlining the principles at work in some of the most important theories on translating literature, the present paper aims at investigating both David Lodge the cultural brand which good speakers of English encounter directly, and David Lodge the translated, re-written, re-created, and therefore the media(ted) brand that readers discover indirectly.


Carmen OPRIT-MAFTEI – “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi The present paper focuses on analysing modalities of translating voice in

headlines. We have chosen for illustration some headlines from The Wall Street Journal Europe (26, 28, 29-30 October, 1999) for which we have provided the Romanian variant. The paper begins with some theoretical aspects concerning this grammatical category since in the target language it has stirred a lot of controversies among specialists that have not reached a consensus yet.

Cultural Meaning in Translating Proverbs

Mădălina RADU – “Costache Negri” National College of Galaţi The cultural turn in translation studies marked the importance of the

cultural elements in translation. The differences between the source language culture (SLC) and the target language culture (TLC) make the translating process in general and the translation of idioms and proverbs in particular a real challenge.

Equivalents of Reportative Evidentials in the French Translation of Ion

Creangă’s Memories of My Boyhood Gabriela SCRIPNIC, Anca GÂŢĂ – “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi The paper deals with the French equivalents of the Romanian reportative

evidentials occuring in Ion Creangă’s Memory of My Boyhood. We assume that in Ion Creangă’s literary work there are recurrent linguistic structures meant to indicate that the information comes from a third unspecified instance, from doxa or folklore (vorba ceea, ş-apoi vorba ceea). The analysis aims at answering the following questions: 1) Do French equivalents keep within the popular register of the language? 2) Which language has a wider range of linguistic structures meant to show that the information conveyed by the statement comes from the folklore? 3) Is there any situation when a Romanian reportative evidential does not have any equivalent in the French translation? This study is part of the research developed within the SMADEM – IDEI 1209 / 2007 Project financed by the Romanian Ministry of Education, Research and Youth.




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Contexts and Vocabulary in Translating Daniela ŞORCARU – “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi

It is impossible to indicate the size of vocabulary that a person needs for translating, because so much depends on the contents of a text and the audience for which a translation is produced. Some people claim that a translator must know a minimum of 50,000 words, but this does not say anything about the active and passive knowledge. The only way to test lexical adequacy is to determine how many times translators need to look up the meanings of words on a typical page of text.

A well-trained translator can usually handle texts with greater stylistic effectiveness in an oral process. Such a procedure, however, also requires considerable practice. Most professional translators try to specialize in certain types of texts, for example, technology, law, merchandising, drama, novels, and history.

Types and Modes of Interpreting

Adriana TEODORESCU – “Dimitrie Cantemir” Christian University of Bucureşti; Faculty of Tourism and Commercial Management of Constanţa

Language interpreting refers to the activity of facilitating the act of communication between two or more participants who belong to different linguistic communities. Interpretation is delivered in two modes: simultaneous and consecutive. Simultaneous interpretation refers to that form of interpretation by which a message is simultaneously delivered into the target language. In consecutive interpretation the messages are delivered one after the other, in a consecutive manner, the interpreter rendering the source language message after the source language speaker has paused.

Implicatures of Translational Direct and Mixed Quotations

Daniela ŢUCHEL – “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi This article addresses a few aspects of meaning to be systematically

abstracted away from a construction that is a direct, alternatively mixed, quotation. There is a topical concern among linguists to probe into human inferential behaviour and, in this particular area of research, there will be renewed visits of inferences generated by the use of quotes and the mention of translated and ‘translated’ ideas. The extended goals of theoretical and empirical world research (Cappelen 1999, Recanati 2000, Soames 2002, Postal 2004, etc.) will be followed in their Romanian coverage, with illustrations from the national media.




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Translation Theory – The Making of the Common Grounds of Humanity / Humanities

Titela VÎLCEANU – University of Craiova A translator is also a translation theorist and a producer of axiological

values. We shall consider the impact of translation theory (avant la lettre) on theology and, largely, on shaping the socio-cultural matrix in which it is embedded via the translation of the Bible during the 14th and 16th centuries. For the first time in the history of translation theory, there is collaborative effort between “old grammarians and old divines” (what nowadays we designate by a nexus between the translators of specialized texts and experts in the field), as a prerequisite for a more accurate meaning processing. Even if in embryo, translation underpins a more reader-oriented approach since the translator is aware of the new sensitivities and of the social impact of the target text.

A Critique of Leon Leviţchi’s Philological Translation of Shakespeare’s

The Tempest – a Pre-requisite to a Twenty-First Century Translation George VOLCEANOV – “Spiru Haret” University of Bucureşti

Twenty-first century Shakespeare translators cannot ignore the history of previous translations. Every new translator measures up his achievement against the achievements of his predecessors. Translating The Tempest, I have chosen Leon Levitchi’s earlier version as a term of comparison with my own translation. The paper, hence, tackles moral issues (the anxiety of influence, the Oedipal struggle between mentor and disciple) and practical / technical issues (a critique of Leon Levitchi’s antiquated translation and new strategies for a new generation of readers and theatre-goers) and provides a handful of textual parallels between the older and the new Romanian Tempests.




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Résumés

Les belgicismes et leur traduction en Roumain Carmen ANDREI – Universitatea „Dunărea de Jos”, Galaţi

Repérés à tous les niveaux de la langue et dans tous les registres – dans l’argot scolaire, surtout estudiantin dans les textes administratifs officiels, dans le vocabulaire juridique ou technique des métiers, la gastronomie y comprise, les belgicismes se présentent comme des particularités linguistiques de la langue française parlée exclusivement sur le territoire actuel de la Belgique. Nous proposons par la suite un bref inventaire des belgicismes sous la forme d’un petit glossaire de termes que nous traduisons et commentons dans des exemples et des contextes appropriés.

Translating ESP Corpora

Ionela Loredana BATOG – “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi Les textes devraient être choisis en conformité avec leur « rôle social » lequel

ces textes jouent dans le contexte de la communication. L’évolution technique permanente signifie une révolution de la langue, les langues de la Terre étant envahis par une vague nouvelle de « technicismes ». Comme méthode d’étude, la sémantique statistique est embrassée pour une identification facile des mots-clés dans textes spécialisés.

Stepping Up to the Next Level: Translation as a Tool of GlobalizationAna-Maria BELDIE – “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi

La connexion entre la Globalisation et la Traduction est conforme à la tendance internationale présente, surlignant la progression de la compréhension de différentes cultures. Les origines de la Globalisation sont strictement commerciales, les négociations internationales des affaires ont révélé comme les langues et les cultures sont une barrière pour la communication. En plus, nous avons traité la Globalisation en utilisant un point de vue différent : le jeu du pouvoir et de la suprématie mondiale, avec l’anglais comme l’arme principale.

L’intention de notre recherche est de montrer que la traduction n’est plus une activité isolée conduite dans des tours d’ivoire, mais une méthode de négocier la pouvoir.


Khatuna BERIDZE – “Shota Rustaveli” University, Georgia L’impossibilité de traduire les barrières culturelles représente un obstacle

pour la communication parfaite entre les cultures, parce que les méta-messages du texte LS peut-être perdues pour le lecteur du texte LO. Etant des phénomènes uniques d’une culture spécifique, realia comme barrières culturelles sont aussi les




x

plus vulnérables phénomènes pour une traduction. L’article met l’accent sur le besoin des explications dans les notes de bas de page quand on traduit un realia vocatif emprunté dans le LO, spécialement dans le cas d’une nature hybride du texte LS, avec un mix culturel. On paye attention spéciale aux cases fréquentes de realia omission, en stipulant l’excuse que l’omission de l’aspect national de realia limite les possibilités du lecteur du LO, quand on considère les points de bue culturel et sociolinguistique.

Translating English and Romanian Fairy Tales

Cristina CHIFANE – “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi L’étude d’un recueil littéraire de plus de quarante contes anglais met en

relief des aspects intéressantes pour le procès de traduction. Les problèmes linguistiques liés sur le thème des idiomes et des expressions, des collocations, des proverbes et finalement mais pas au dernier rang, les formes arhaïques seront analisés en détail avec des examples et explications vraisemblables.

Translating for the Media

Ramona CIORANU – “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi Les changements technologiques influencent les modes de communication

et ont un impact profond sur les professions des traducteurs et interprètes, d’une manière que nouvelles professions résulteront. Traducteurs pour mass-média pourrait être une des nouvelles professions qui vont apparaitre. Toutes les connaissances nécessaires à un sous-titreur, l’expérience nécessaire pour faire une bonne traduction pour un journal, l’habileté ou peut-être on devrait l’appeler l’art de traduire les titres des journaux ou des films, tout ça nécessité des nouveaux stratégies des traducteurs, stratégies qui sont tout à fait spécifiques, que pour les autres types de traductions spécialises.

Identity in Cultural Diversity Through Translation

Elena CROITORU – “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi Toutes les communautés linguistiques présentent variations et aspects

linguistiques lesquels sont socialement, culturellement et grammaticalement acceptables. Une communauté linguistique est l’unité fondamentale pour analyser, parce que la définition de la langue qui l’unifie est basée sur la notion de diversité, de variété et du style du langage. Les conflits en ce qui concerne l’usage du langage sont une partie des négociations, parce que les configurations du langage sont différentes parmi les contextes culturels. Chaque forme linguistique gagne des sens variés en chaque contexte culturel. Il est important comme il est difficile de préserver l’identité dans la diversité culturelle, en plus que l’anglais est l’exposant principal d’un phénomène connu comme standardisation. L’idée fondamentale de cette standardisation internationale est que la plus puissante culture d’un langage




xi

est privilégiée d’exercer la meilleure influence quand on parle de la manière de traduire.

Le principal obstacle pour vaincre est quand on traduit un texte dans un langage d’une culture très différente de la culture du langage source, parce que la négociation n’est pas réalisée également, mais elle est toujours penchée vers le langage avec la culture privilégiée.

Translation: A Vocabulary Learning Strategy Gabriela CUŞEN – “Transilvania” University of Braşov

Ce papier examine l’usage de la traduction comme une méthode d’apprendre une langue. Dans la littérature SLA, la traduction est considérée une des plus complexes capacités cognitives parmi les stratégies d’apprendre une langue. Ce papier présente une étude fondée sur l’analyse de l’apprentissage d’une langue et des dates des interviews. Ce qu’on trouve suggère que l’usage de la traduction comme une méthode d’apprendre une langue – avec des autres stratégies identifiées – aide les participants à l’étude d’être caractérises comme des apprentis expérimentes, avances et indépendants.

Information Universe and Text Perspectives in Translation: the Hol-

atomistic Phase Daniel DEJICA – Polytechnic University of Timişoara

Des études récentes prétendent que, plus les traducteurs connaissent les structures et les dynamiques du discours, plus ils peuvent traduire clairement le contenu et l’esprit d’un texte. Similairement, les projets internationaux de recherche veulent aider les traducteurs faire des décisions raisonnable et consistants en ce qui concerne la relevance et la fiabilité des traits du texte source dans le texte objet.

Mon projet de doctorat est en conformité avec tels recherche objectifs ; le but principal est de créer une approche intégrée pour la compréhension, identification et analyse de l’univers de l’information dans les textes source, lequel peut être utilisé comme fondation pour la traduction. Ce papier présente un modèle adapté que j’utilise pour l’identification des constituants de l’univers de l’information, c’est-à-dire Thèmes et Rhèmes, et la phase hol-atomistique du procès de l’analyse de l’univers de l’information.

Two “Ironic” Gestures: Translation and Literary Criticism Virginia Mihaela DUMITRESCU – Economic Studies Academy of Bucureşti

Ce papier regarde deux perspectives sur la traduction (et, par extension, sur la critique littéraire) – c’est-à-dire ces de Walter Benjamin et Paul de Man – formulées aux intervalles de décennies, mais unifiées par le geste « ironique » que les deux identifient : une « désarticulation » ou « dé-canonisation » du texte original (ou du texte littéraire d’analyser) et sa « ré-canonisation » ou « blocage » dans une forme « définitive ».




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Equivalences of the Romanian Verbal Form Presumptive in French Alina GANEA, Anca GÂŢĂ – “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi

verbal employé lorsprémiss

u programme PNII Projet II 1209/

lation – Today and Tomorrow – on the Availability of a Translation Bianca-Oana HAN – “Petru Maior” University of Tg. Mureş

aujourd’hui résiste jusvif, est

o the Author, or Translating the First 150 Pages of oseph Kanon’s The Good German

nt des erreurs, spécialement quand ils essaient de recréer le passé et plactrès bie

oint in Translation Nana KAJAIA - Batumi Shota Rustaveli University, Georgia

écrivain géorgien, est la richmétaph

Dans le système verbal roumain, le présomptif est un mode que le locuteur veut formuler une supposition basée sur des

es et qui n’est pas validable dans le contexte. Porteur d’une charge sémantique modale de doute et incertaineté, le présomptif peut recevoir une lecture évidentielle: dans certains contextes il peut informer sur la source inférentielle de l’information. L’hypothèse qui sous-tend notre recherche est que l’association du présomptif roumain au conditionnel français dans la traduction n’est pas toujours fonctionnelle car le sens initial d’inférence peut être perdu ou contaminé avec d’autres nuances sémantiques. L’analyse sera menée sur un corpus de textes littéraires roumains traduits en français.

La recherche est financée par le Ministère Roumain de l’Education, de la Recherche and de la Jeunesse dans le cadre d

2007. Trans

Ce papier essaie de répondre a la question si une traduction accompliequ'à demain, parce que la langue, considérée un organisme

en motion permanente. Giving a Helping Hand tJ

Petru IAMANDI - “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi Parfois les auteurs commette

ent leur narrations dans un milieu ils ne connaissent pas n, et ils utilisent des mots d’un langage qui n’est pas familier. Aussi, parce

que les plus importants lecteurs objet sont leurs compatriotes, ils ont la tendance d’être très d’actualité. Cette influence fait l’emploi du traducteur plus difficile, parce qu’il doit corriger les erreurs normalement et subrepticement, et donner des explications sous la forme des notes de bas de page. Ce papier est un aperçu dans la logique du traducteur, et dans ses décisions pour améliorer la création de l’auteur et pour aider le lecteur mieux comprendre.

Peculiarities of Transmitting Author’s Viewp

Un des traits spécifiques du style de N. Dumbadze, le fameuxesse traditionnelle des figures du style : comparaisons,

ores et symbolisme binaire. L’auteur applique celui-ci dernier comme l’une des plus expressives méthodes de rendre ses points personales de vue. Cependant,




xiii

le symbolisme binaire su texte LS, avec les implications de la vie et de la mort transposées dans le texte LO en utilisant une approche directe qui présente une représentation simplifiée de la relation artistique entre l’auteur et son œuvre. La traduction russe montre la tendance d’interprétation libre de la position impliquée de l’auteur. « L’effet du texte ouvert » résulte par perdre ou changer les idées et les intentions de l’auteur dans le LO.

The Unparalleled Adventure of One Charles Baudelaire: A Portrait of the oet as Translator of Poe’s Fiction

nsidérables de Baudelaire de traduire Poe en

français et analy“loyaut

ive Names and Quotations from George Eliot Nadia Nicoleta MORĂRAŞU - University of Bacău

épigraphes littéraires et en-têtes des chapsimplem

ral Context in Communication and Translation Monica NĂSTASI - “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi

les cultures de communication contextu(CCR),

f Your Luggage!” – A Glimpse at (G)localized English Mariana NEAGU - “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi

irections, matériaux publicitaires efertile p

PDaniela LINGURARU – “Stefan cel Mare” University of Suceava

Ce papier trait les efforts cose, commençant par quelques exemples signifiants, le niveau de

é” pour les textes de Poe. Louée comme « meilleure que l’original », la traduction de Baudelaire n’est pas d’accord avec les théories en ce qui concerne les difficultés de traduire de l’anglais en français, en plus renforçant l’espoir pour une traduction « parfaite ».

Translating Allus

Les romans d’Eliot ont une tendance d’avoir des titres, itres, tous allusifs, et ils peuvent être vus comme

ent décoratifs, seulement s’ils ne fonctionnent pas comme un système complexe intertextuel. Notre but dans ce papier est de montrer que tels éléments varient parmi les techniques de représentation intertextuelle qu’on trouve dans les textes passibles d’être reconnus du point de vue culturel. Donc, les noms allusifs et les épigraphes seront discutes dans une sélection des exemples représentatifs, destines à illuminer leur but et a illustrer des stratégies variées pour utiliser dans leur traduction.

The Cultu

Le but de mon papier est de différentier entre elle fréquente (CCF) et communication contextuelle rare

de discuter les liaisons entre l’idée de contexte et les hémisphères gauche et droite du cerveau, et de montrer la relevance du contexte pour la communication et la traduction.

“Beware o

En utilisant des exemples des signes de divertissement, dt affiches des hôtels, qui prouvent d’être un territoire

our l’usage erroné de l’anglais a l’étranger, ce papier met l’accent sur les variétés minores de l’anglais, qui semblent être négligées dans la théorie et la




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Places Lidia Mihaela NECULA – “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi

s une langue, mais dans une cumesure

Carmen OPRIT-MAFTEI – “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi se des modalités de traduire voix dans les

titres. Nous avonStreet J

Mădălina RADU – “Costache Negri” National College of Galaţi uction a marque l’importance

des éléments cultlangage

ative Evidentials in the French Translation of Ion Crean ă’s Memories of My Boyhood

nts en français des marqueurs évidentiels de type rapCreangă. Nous supposons que dans cette œuvre il y ait des structures

pratique de la traduction. Spécialement, nous regardons les registres mentionnés ci-dessus pour discuter trois problèmes majeures de la traduction : problèmes du traduction pragmatique (y compris des termes fixes dans la culture et restrictions spatiales), problèmes de la traduction interculturelle (provenant des différences entre les conventions officielles, ces des types de texte, ces des manières de s’adresser) et problèmes de la traduction d’une langue à l’autre (provenant des différences structurelles dans le vocabulaire et la syntaxe).

Translating Cultural Brands: David Lodge, Changing

Si on considère que la littérature existe non seulement danlture aussi, la traduction littéraire peut-être classée d’après la

de chaque exemple de manipuler la langue à l’aide de la culture. En dehors d’exposer les principes qui fonctionnent dans quelques théories fondamentales en ce qui concerne la traduction littéraire, ce papier essaie d’investiguer tous les deux David Lodge la marque culturelle qui les meilleurs anglophones connaissent directement, et David Lodge la marque traduite, réécrite, récrée et par conséquent la marque médiatisée laquelle les lecteurs connaissent indirectement.


Ce papier ici se fixe sur l’analys choisi pour illustrer ces modalités quelques titres de The Wall

ournal Europe (26, 28, 29-30 Octobre, 1999), pour lesquelles nous avons apporté la variante en roumain. Le papier commence par des aspects théorétiques concernant cette catégorie grammaticale, parce que in le langage objet elle a causée assez de controverse parmi les spécialistes qui n’ont pas touché de consensus.

Cultural Meaning in Translating Proverbs

L’accent culturel dans les études sur la tradurels dans la traduction. Les différences entre la culture du

source (CLS) et la culture du langage objet (CLO) transforment dans un vrai challenge le procès de la traduction – en général – et la traduction des idiomes et proverbes – en spécifique.

Equivalents of Reportg

Gabriela SCRIPNIC, Anca GÂŢĂ – “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi Cette étude traite des équivaleporté qui apparaissent dans l’œuvre Souvenirs d’Enfance écrite par Ion




xv

linguist

Daniela ŞORCARU – “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi Il est impossible d’indiquer le vocabulaire qu’on a besoin pour traduire

parce de mesure du texte et du publique pour lequel la tradutraduct

istian University of Bucureşti; Faculty of Tourism and Commercial Management of Constanţa

l’activité de faciliter la communication entre deuxdifférenteL’interp

Cet article trait quelques aspects du sens, systématiquement dérivés d’une constr . On voit un concerne actuel parmi leet, dans cette partie de recherche spécialement, on aura des visites répétées

iques récurrentes censées indiquer que l’information transmise provient d’un tiers non spécifié, de la doxa ou du folklore (vorba ceea, ş-apoi vorba ceea). L’analyse vise à répondre aux questions suivantes : 1) Les équivalents français s’inscrivent-ils dans le registre populaire de la langue ? 2) Quelle langue a un éventail plus large de structures linguistiques dont le rôle est d’indiquer le fait que l’information donnée est puisée dans le folklore ? 3) Y a-t-il des cas où un marqueur de type rapporté n’a pas d’équivalent dans la traduction française? Cette étude fait partie de la recherche développée dans le cadre du Projet SMADEM – IDEI 1209 / 2007 financé par le Ministère Roumain de l’Education, de la Recherche et de la Jeunesse.

Contexts and Vocabulary in Translating

que le procès est dépendant dans une granction est produite. Il y a des gens qui affirment que le

eur doit savoir un minimum de 50 000 paroles, mais cela ne représente pas les connaissances actives et passives. La seule manière de vérifier la compétence lexicale est cela de déterminer combien de fois le traducteur utilise le dictionnaire pour identifier les sens des mots en traduisant une page. Un traducteur compétent peut traduire des textes difficiles du point de vue stylistique dans un procès orale. Quand même, une telle procédure nécessite beaucoup de travail pratique. La plupart des traducteurs essaient à se spécialiser dans un certain domaine, comme technologie, lois, publicité, théâtre, roman et histoire.

Types and Modes of Interpreting

Adriana TEODORESCU – “Dimitrie Cantemir” Chr

L’interprétation du langage est ou plusieurs participants, provenant de communautés linguistiques

s. L’interprétation est de deux types : simultanée et consécutive. rétation simultanée est cette forme d’interprétation dont un message est

apporte simultanément dans le langage objet. Pour l’interprétation consécutive, les messages arrivent l’un après l’autre, dans une manière consécutive, où l’interprète donne le message du langage source après l’orateur du langage source s’est arrêté.

Implicatures of Translational Direct and Mixed Quotations

Daniela ŢUCHEL – “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi

uction qui est une citation directe, alternativement mixées linguistes d’analyser le comportement humain déductif




xvi

d’infére

Titela VÎLCEANU – University of Craiova Un traducteur est aussi un théoricien de la traduction et un producteur des

valeura théologie et, généralement sur la formation de la matrice

socioculturelle via la traduction de la premièr

Twenty-First Century Translation George VOLCEANOV – “Spiru Haret” University of Bucureşti

Les traducteurs de Shakespeare dans le 21e siècle ne peuvent pas ignorer l’histo

st, j’ai choisi la variante antérieutraducti

nces générées de l’usage des citations et de la mention des idées traduites et « traduites ». Les buts prolongés de la recherche des mondes théorique et empirique (Cappelen 1999, Recanati 2000, Soames 2002, Postal 2004, etc.) seront suivis dans leur variante roumaine, avec des illustrations dans le mass-média national.

Translation Theory – The Making of the Common Grounds of Humanity /

Humanities

s axiologiques. Nous discutons l’effet de la théorie de la traduction (avant la lettre) sur l

Bible dans les 14e et 16e siècles. Pour la e fois dans l’histoire de la théorie de la traduction, on voit un effort en

collaboration entre « les anciens grammairiens et les anciens divines » (ce qu’aujourd’hui nous voyons comme un réseau entre les traducteurs des textes spécialises et les experts du domaine), comme une nécessité pour l’élaboration plus précise du sens. Même si in embryo, la traduction implique une approche vers le lecteur, parce que le traducteur est conscient des sensibilités nouvelles et de l’impact social du texte objet.

A Critique of Leon Leviţchi’s Philological Translation of Shakespeare’s

The Tempest – a Pre-requisite to a

ire des traductions antérieures. Chaque traducteur nouveau doit comparer sa réussite aux réussites de ses prédécesseurs. En traduisant The Tempe

re de Leon Leviţchi pour terme de comparaison avec ma propre on. Donc, ce papier trait problèmes morales (l’anxiété de l’influence, la

lutte d’Œdipe entre menteur et apprenti) et problèmes pratiques / techniques (une critique de la traduction vieillotte de Leon Leviţchi et des stratégies nouvelles pour une génération nouvelle de lecteurs et spectateurs des théâtres) et donne quelques parallèles textuelles entre les Tempests roumaines vieilles et nouvelles.

translation studies: retrospective and prospective...

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